Sheridan IMAX
Bath Road,
Bournemouth,
BH1
Bath Road,
Bournemouth,
BH1
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Located in the seaside town of Bournemouth, Hampshire, close to the pier. The IMAX was a controversial building from the start, as it was feared (later confirmed) that it would spoil the views onto the sea. It was built in the Spring of 1999, but had problems gaining an operator. It was fitted out with seats and a screen, but was still vacant in May 2001. There was talk of UCI cinemas taking it on and even the British Film Institute, who operated a successful IMAX cinema in London. The building also contained a restaurant, a bar and a nightclub, which were opened.
In January 2002, an IMAX projector was installed and the owners, Sheridan, hoped for an Easter opening. The Sheridan IMAX finally opened in March 2002.
By January 2003, the cinema was only open three days a week in the winter months. A local Councillor called for the building to be demolished. The Sheridan IMAX was closed for ‘repairs and refurbishment’ in February 2005, and never re-opened.
The building was demolished in March 2013.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
This building appears to have been almost universally detested, judging from the plethora of attacks on it to be found on the Internet. This article from 2005, for example, tells of a television show which voted the Sheridan IMAX the worst building in England. All I can say to that is… if only.
I’ll own that the building was not very appealing, at least judging from its Google Street View, and it was surely inappropriately sited, but the worst building in England? That’s an awful lot of buildings and a lot of awful buildings. Somebody standing on the Sheridan’s roof with a hand-held rocket launcher could probably have taken out half a dozen or more that I’d consider even worse right there in Bournemouth— but there’s no accounting for tastes, I suppose. I’d trade our bland local multiplex for something that looked more like the Sheridan any day.
The seats in the IMAX have been rehomed in the Shelleys Theatre, also in Bournemouth. This shows films in its programming, and restoration is ongoing in 2015.
The Sheridan group also developed and operated two Sheridan IMAX cinemas on the island of Ireland. As was the case with Bournemouth, both of these were short-lived ventures. Dublin, Ireland (Parnell Centre) operated from 1998 – 2000. Belfast, Northern Ireland (Odyssey Pavilion) operated from 2001 – 2007. See separate entries for both of these on this website.