Apollo Cinema
Abbey Road and Holker Street,
Barrow-in-Furness,
LA14 5QY
Abbey Road and Holker Street,
Barrow-in-Furness,
LA14 5QY
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 4 comments
Site occupied by Emlyn Hughes House, HQ of the Furness Building Society. There is a statue of Emlyn, who was born in the town, directly outside.
The cinema had a wide proscenium arch which allowed a CinemaScope screen to be easily installed.
I do not know its dimensions but watching a Scope film from the front circle was an impressive experience.
Reopened in June 1977 after tripling. Press reports state a fourth screen was added in the bar area in March 1995. The cinema was reputed to be haunted by a little girl in a red coat. Barrow-born John Duffin has committed some images of the cinema to canvas see: http://www.johnduffin.co.uk/digital/2007/index.html
Phoenix Paranormal Investigations, who investigated the cinema on 26th February 1999, reported that despite the £200,000 spent on tripling, back stage sewerage was leaking into the old band rooms, and the area was rat infested. The brickwork was tatty and crumbling, the walls were cracked and the paintwork dirty and peeling. The whole building look rough and beyond its usefulness.