Imperial Cinema

Located in the north Liverpool district of Bootle on Stanley Road near Marsh Lane. The Sun Hall was built as a public hall in the 1899. Films were first screened here in June 1906. It became a cinema in March 1911. It was closed on 28th March 1914. Taken over by George Prince, it re-opened on 4th April 1914.

In January 1923 it was re-named Imperial Cinema and in July 1929 it was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system and Al Jolson in “The Singing Fool” was the first talkie shown here on 2nd December 1929. Alterations were carried out in January 1931 to the plans of architect A.O. Chatterley. The side slips on the balcony were removed and a new 40 feet wide proscenium was constructed. It was operated by the Bootle based George Prince Circuit.

The Imperial Cinema was the first cinema in the area to be equipped with CinemaScope when “The Robe” was screened on 12th September 1954 with full stereophonic sound. The Imperial Cinema was closed on 7th March 1959 with Frank Sinatra in “Kings Go Forth”. The building was purchased by the local council in 1960 with plans to convert it into a public hall which would also be used for dances. But due to financial difficulties, this never happened and it became a DIY hardware store using the foyer only. The Imperial Cinema was demolished in the late-1970’s. I believe the Castle Bingo Club was built on the site.

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