Electric Theatre

70-72 Commercial Street,
Halifax, HX1 2JE

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Gaumont-British-Picture Corp., Ltd., Rank Organisation

Architects: William Edward Trent

Firms: Horsfall & Dawson

Functions: Bowling Alley, Pool Hall

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Converted from a riding school in 1911, the Electric Theatre in Halifax had 800 seats and was part of the National Electric Circuit.

It was taken over in 1928 by Denman / Gaumont and enlarged to the plans of Messrs Horsfall & Dawson to accommodate 1,100. A few years later a further and more drastic enlargement took place and the Electric Theatre now had 1,728 seats.

1. Trent was brought in to modernise the cinema in 1939, by building a new facade and reducing the capacity to 1,536.

As one of four cinemas on the Wards End crossroads, it was the first to close, in September 1956. It became a car showroom and then a snooker club. In recent years it has had another makeover, with yet another new facade, and now houses a bowling alley and bar on the ground floor and a snooker club on the extended first floor. Internally there is little trace of its cinema past, although the entrance to the snooker hall is via the balcony vomitory and the projection suite survives as a storeroom.

Contributed by Ian Grundy

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