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Buttermarket Street, Warrington, WA1 2LY.
Opened Oct 1921. Closed 1961 and demolished.
1 screen. Seating information not available.
The Empire Picture Theatre was opened on 10 October 1921 with Anna Q. Nilsson in “Why Girls Leave Home”. There was a billiards and snooker hall in the basement.
In 1955 the Empire Cinema was the first in Warrington to be equipped with CinemaScope. It was closed on 11 October 1961 with Pat Boone in “All Hands on Deck”’ The building was demolished and a Halford’s store was built on the site. The site is currently occupied by Heron Foods supermarket and the Salvation Army charity shop.
The Empire was the only cinema in Warrington to have four track magnetic sound. There was a sign at the side of the cinema stating that it was the only cinema in Warrington with stereophonic sound.
Contributed by Ken Roe. Additional information by Gordon Gandy, with thanks to David A. Ellis, former Palace projectionist, for the final paragraph.
The view of the cinema from Bank Street.
It was one of those buildings that begs the question:
WHY did they knock it down?
Photo copyright unknown. Contact me for a credit.
mywarrington 