ABC Leicester
Belgrave Gate,
Leicester,
LE1
Belgrave Gate,
Leicester,
LE1
2 people
favorited this theater
The Savoy Cinema was built for and operated by Associated British Cinema (ABC) and opened on 4th June 1937 with John Lodge in “Sensation”. It was designed in an Art Deco style by ABC’s in-house architect William R. Glen with further input from C. Wilford Smith. The cinema was equipped with a Compton 3Manual/6Rank organ which had an illuminated console and a Melotone attached. It was opened by Wilfred Southorth. There was a small stage and dressing room which was used in the early days and in the 1960’s pop concerts were held.
In 1959 the Savoy was equipped with Todd A-O and 70mm projection and it had a long run of the movie “South Pacific”. It was re-named ABC in 1960 and the cinema was twinned in 1970 with 606 seats in the former circle and 910 seats in the screen located in the former stalls. It was at this time that the organ was removed and it is now installed in the Regent Theatre, Fleggburgh near Great Yarmouth. In 1973 the rear of the former stalls was divided into two screens that seated 410 and 232.ABC were taken over by EMI and then Cannon and it was re-named Cannon Film Centre. In 1991 Cannon were no long in charge and the name changed again to MGM and finally back to ABC. It closed on 16th January 1997 with a screening of “Star Trek-First Contact”. Since then it has remained closed and boarded up. In March 2006 plans were approved to demolish the building and build a ten-storey apartment block, 100 bedroom hotel, casino and shops on the site.
In 2007, the bulldozers moved in and by the end of the year, the former Savoy Cinema was no more. In March 2008, the site is an empty plot, used for car-parking.
Contributed by
KenRoe
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
A photograph of the ABC Leicester that I took in July 1965:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/245722450/
Another photo when under the Cannon name in 1995:–
View link
Work stripping out the former ABC Savoy started in February, ahead of demolition.
Sadly the cinema is now having its heart riped out. View link
I would love to see a photo of the inside of the cinema in its youth, as well as the compton organ.
I would like to correct a small mistake in the details above.I worked at the cinema from 1965 to closure and when converted to a twin cinema,the whole of the stalls area was used for screen 2.
Demolition was completed toward the end of 2007 and at time of writing(march ‘08),the area is in use as a car park.
I would love to add some photos when this feature is up and running.
alanproj; Thanks for the clarification. It has now been amended.
Heres a photo from my collection.
http://img471.imageshack.us/i/abc2fb8.jpg/
Alanproj