Picture House 1954 false proscenium.

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Uploaded on: May 6, 2022

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The old fashioned and very narrow proscenium of the Picture House was, in 1954, most unsuitable for the new innovation, CinemaScope; ABC’s answer to the problem can be seen here.

Even at that time, ABC were on the lookout for an alternative venue and they had considered the Ritz, the town’s largest cinema. Company Architect, C J Foster, however, did not recommend purchase following the discovery a substantial crack in one of the side elevations. This did not deter Rank/CMA from adding the Ritz to its acquisitions when it became the ‘Odeon’, thus providing them with a second venue in Doncaster, the other being the nearby Gaumont.

ABC did eventually replace the busy, but very old style, Picture House with the new build stadium plan ABC in 1967.