Odeon Newcastle upon Tyne

The Newcastle Paramount is also very similar to the Denver Paramount, the internal decoration is very comparable, probably more so than Aurora.""

I can honestly say that come No 26th I will, like everyone else, be very sad to see the passing of a fine theatre...Because I`ve spent my last 25 years working there as projectionist.. There will never be another like it. I have a lot of happy memories to treasure for years to come..

Join the Save the Paramount Campaign

www.sapling.org.uk/paramount/

If you haven't seen the website and signed their online petition then I would recommend you pay them a visit really interesting site with lots of original photos. The Newcastle Paramount is one of the most complete examples of the American studio's all to brief foray into theatre ownership in the UK. Like the Ambassador Salford UK this theatre shares the same criminal fate of abandonment by English Heritage and the Department of Media Culture & Sport. Both organizations are hypocrites and should be replaced by a more publicly accountable body that really cares for ALL our heritage not just their snobby arty-farty bits!!!

http://www.preservetheparamount.co.uk/
http://www.ambassadorproject.homestead.com

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE ODEON COMPANY IT SEEMS THAT THEY ARE INTENT ON DISTROYING ALL THEY HAVE LEFT OF THE FINE FORMER PARAMOUNT CINEMAS. THEY SHOULD TREASURE THESE ONCE GOLDEN AGE MOVIE PALACES FOR THE NEXT GENERATIONS TO SEE WHAT A GOLDEN AGE CINEMA ONCE LOOKED LIKE.

DEREK ATKINS(PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER MERCIA CINEMA SOCIETY).

Just a comment on the tripling of 1975- this left the front stalls area and stage intact, being a classic drop-wall conversion. Regretfully, the resultant reduced capacity and inevitable degradation in acoustics sounded the death knell for live performances at the Odeon, the nearby City Hall then effectively becoming the larger venue. The screen 4 of 1980 was formed from the stage and front stalls, being roofed over at slightly above balcony rail level and a new screen being constucted in front of (and higher up relative to) the original proscenium.

Some photographs taken prior to closure here:
http://www.merciacinema.org.uk/gallery2.htm

Three vintage exterior photographs of the Odeon, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne here:

1. In 1949 with the original Paramount canopy (marquee) and vertical fin (blade) sign, but now sporting the Odeon name.
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cavalcade/newcastleo3.jpg

2. Daytime in February 1961, the canopy has been re-faced, but th fin sign still remains on show.
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cavalcade/newcastleo2.jpg

3. Night time in February 1961
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cavalcade/newcastle01.jpg

Sorry
Here is the night time shot again;
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cavalcade/newcastleo1.jpg

Another pic here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12494104@N00/422468867/

Another exterior picture here from 1986:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12494104@N00/2135520856/

I went to see The Hunchback Of Notre Dame here once. Pretty good presentation. But, like all things in life, I learnt to move on. The people trying to save this cinemas can continue for all I care. Personally, I don't see this coming back to life. I mean, ODEON themselves asked for the de-listing and when it was trying to be re-listed, English Heritage didn't want to re-list it. So, I'm throwing in my towel and letting everyone else attempt to save it. I will just continue to live in the life of multiplexes. All the art deco cinemas near me are no more (Save for the Tyneside Cinema) and I adjusted to the Multiplexes.
This cinema was great in it's time, but now, it looks rather derlict.

This is a recent exterior view.

A second page of photos was added to the link posted on Aug 27, 2005. Click here.

Well, the building is still empty and unused. I think it needs a new owner. The problem, the Save the Newcastle Paramount campaign is pretty quiet.

The building has been empty for so long it's not funny anymore. Something needs to be put in it. Demolition is an option, but considering the grandness, Demo shouldn't really be considered.

Here are a couple of shots from further away taken on October 6th 2008

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2950193366_9aedcc74fc_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2950193928_b707944dee_b.jpg


I wonder if any one has been inside recently?

I would love to see what the interior is looking like.

Those pictures convey my meaning excatically.

I've never been back in since I've seen 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' and frankly, I regret it majorly.

How I'd give to once again sit in the magic of Screen 1 and enjoy films there.

... Then again, that seems more like a dream since there is the 12-screen multiplex nearby, which people are more likely to go to, alongside the Tyneside Cinema. That is a Cinema, not a multiplex (But I do respect the right of a multiplex)

If I had the money, I would refurbish the cinema to it's former glory, still with the 4 sub-divided screens, refurb the ODEON 'shop' to a combination mini shop selling magazines, the sorts AND still selling confectionary for the cinema.

Here are new links for the photos posted on Sep 11, 2005.

Photo1

Photo2

Photo3

The contrast between photo 1 posted by Lost Memory and the photo posted by Grainger taken last year shows that not only have our movie theatres been wrecked but the city centres as well! Where there was once a handsome Victorian/Edwardian building adjacent to the Odeon we now have some banal ugly bastard projecting out over the road. It's not really surprising that the old theatres did not survive when the areas where they were built became steadily more and more seedy and unappealing in the 60's, 70's and 80's and in some places it's still going on! The once laudable profession of architecture is now one of the most discredited in modern history.

anybody know the name of the security company/owners? was thinking of dropping them an email to see what the chances are of being able to go inside this fantastic looking building with a camera, i know what the likely answer would be but if you don't try........

The building is going to be put to rest, according to this news article.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2010/01/22/curtain-to-fall-on-famous-old-city-buildings-72703-25656367/

According to this article, this, among many other buildings are to be demo'ed for a new project. Pray to Eneru that the plan doesn't stop and it just leaves a gaping hole.

"In 1999 the Odeon was Grade II Listed with English Heritage stating "[It is] The best surviving Paramount cinema in Britain, with well composed facade and rich interior with Lalique glass fittings"

According to The Evening Chronicle the inside has been gutted - its just blank brick walls. As the council say, the only thing saving it from demolition has now been removed. Well money and 'progress' is more important I suppose. Unfortunate that progress is glass and metal bland buildings. Great shame.

3Dfan posted: "http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2010/01/22/curtain-to-fall-on-famous-old-city-buildings-72703-25656367/"

Crikey, thats even worse news than the inside of the Odeon, although the Bank Of England building is a mess. The outside of the Odeon isn't anything amazing (does still have those Paramout logos at the top corners of course) but it could be put to use. Newcastle Council have always had this lack of regard for great buildings in the City.

latest news

"It is with some sadness that we have to report that our long running campaign to save the former Odeon cinema in Pilgrim Street has now come to an unsatisfactory end. Brookfield, the current owners of the East Pilgrim Street development site invited Geoffrey Purves and John Matthews along with John Burns of Mackellar architects to have a look at the interior on Tuesday 25th of May. The building has been stripped of anything of value, and more importantly the specific fixtures and fittings which were so crucial in English Heritages original listing decision in 2000. We believe that Cinven, the owners at the time, who along with the Rank Organisation successfully appealed to the DCMS to controversially de-list the former Grade II listed Odeon, took the opportunity at that time to ensure that nothing remained worth listing. We understand from Brookfield that they do have some items “in storage” but as yet they haven’t indicated what they themselves have removed or indeed the condition of the interior when they themselves took possession. The elegant and elaborately worked ornamental balustrades manufactured by local architectural metalworkers M Aynsley and Company of Heber Street which many members will remember leading up to the foyers from the main Pilgrim Street entrance have been ripped out leaving gaping holes in the concrete stairs. Shadows on the walls are all that remain of the decorative lighting sconces and other original fittings.

Geoffrey and John visited the former screen 2 and 3 on the ground floor, now with their separating wall removed, (probably because of the asbestos insulation used in the 70’s conversion) and now returned back a single space as it was when first opened, then upstairs to screen 1, the largest which still could seat over 1000 patrons at the time of closure in 2002. Some of the original ornate metal side cheeks which graced the row ends were stacked awaiting removal along with other remnant of the auditorium seating. The highly ornate decorative fixtures above the lighting columns which were also original fittings when the cinema was opened in 1931 by Paramount have all been removed. The last part of the tour was at the top of the building in the projection room where, apart from some electrical control units, nothing remains.

It seems that anything which could be taken has been taken, which of course as owners of the building at the time Cinven were perfectly entitled to do. However the fact that the Society had submitted a document to the DCMS providing additional information to substantiate our request for them to return the Odeon’s Grade II listed status, and it was therefore still “under consideration” we still feel it was a cynical act of wanton destruction by the owners. It took the DCMS seven years to respond to this report despite numerous letters and telephone calls from the Society as each time we were told “no decision has yet been made”.

The Society believes that the DCMS’s record in this sad affair has been lamentable and wish to see the new Government resurrect the proposed Heritage Bill (quietly dropped by the Labour Government a year or so ago) which would remove the DCMS (and its transient Ministers) from the equation and allow English Heritage to be the final arbiter in listing and delisting decisions. We are well aware that the Minister at the DCMS at the time was heavily lobbied by the previous owners Rank and venture capitalists Cinven (the new owners of the Odeon and ABC cinema and theatre estates), (including a former Government Heritage Minister) and rather than accepting two separate reports from English Heritage recommending the Odeon’s protection and Grade II listing, she preferred to accept a professionally commissioned report from the owners on appeal. Cinven went on to sell off the Odeon /ABC to other cinema chains but sold the most valuable sites on to developers (including the Newcastle site) which is why they lobbied strongly to get listed status removed.

The Society’s concern is that if this can happen to the Odeon, which at the time considering its age was remarkably intact and certainly worthy of listing, other buildings are therefore potentially at risk. As owners (and councils) see no commercial advantage in retention, other buildings which currently have listed building protection could be at risk if they stand in the way of new development. They could have their listed status challenged and subsequently removed in the same way as the Odeon on appeal to the DCMS. In this way we could loose other important fine examples of art décor 20th century architecture on the Pilgrim Street site Carliol House and the Magistrates Court, a group of buildings which including the Odeon are arguably as important historically to the architectural heritage of Newcastle as the much valued Grainger Town.

To end on a more positive note, Brookfield have provisionally agreed an offer of financial support to capture all of the available information, be it photographic, written or spoken memories relating to the Paramount/Odeon over it's 80 year lifespan; and to assist in the creation of an exhibition somewhere in the city, possibly leading to finding a permanent home for any memorabilia we can obtain from former employees and members of the public. We are certainly in agreement with Brookfield that IF the building must be lost to future generations, its sad demise MUST be recorded in a professional and complete manner. We have lost too many buildings in the past without proper studies being carried out. It is the least this fine historic building deserves. The Northumberland and Newcastle Society have offered our assistance in this initiative.

A more complete history of the Societies campaign to “ Preserve the Paramount” will be complied by John Matthews who was Chair of the Tyneside Committee at the time of the Odeon’s de-listing and will be posted along with his series of black and white images of the Paramount in 1931 in the near future.”

some interior photos taken on 25th May can be seen here:
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=51353