Capitol Cinema

In the Edge Hill district of Liverpool, the Capitol Cinema opened on 1st February 1930 with “King of the Khyber Rifles”, starring Victor McLaglen and Myrna Loy. There were 1,585 seats, split between the stalls (1,045) and circle (540). The circle front was unusual, having two straight sections from the side walls, linked by a curved centre. The projection room was equipped with twin Kalee projectors on Western Electric bases. The proscenium was 23ft wide, the stage 6ft deep and there were two dressing rooms. It presented occasional variety on its stage.

Although one of the larger suburban cinemas, independent ownership meant that the Capitol Cinema soon faced strong competition from the large circuits. It was therefore always restricted in its choice of films and, by the early-1950’s, attendances were falling, so much so that, from 1952, performances were in the evenings only.

Nevertheless, CinemaScope was installed, with shows starting on 4th December 1958 with “Sign of the Pagan”, starring Jeff Chandler.

In autumn 1961 cine-bingo was introduced on Sunday evenings, with one film and a bingo session. This was extended to Wednesdays, but soon discontinued before closure on 2nd December 1961 with “Portrait in Black”, starring Lana Turner.

The building was acquired by Clement Freeman Ltd. for use as a warehouse, but later on was extensively re-built and re-opened as an Ambassador Lanes bowling alley. That, too, has since closed and been demolished.

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