Oak Cinema

Oak Cinema
General information
Type Cinema
Architectural style Art Deco
Location Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham
Coordinates 52°26′26.85″N 1°56′20.12″W / 52.4407917°N 1.9389222°W / 52.4407917; -1.9389222Coordinates: 52°26′26.85″N 1°56′20.12″W / 52.4407917°N 1.9389222°W / 52.4407917; -1.9389222
Completed 26 March 1923
Demolished December 1984
Design and construction
Architect Harold Seymour Scott

The Oak Cinema, was an Art Deco style cinema located at the junction of Chapel Lane and Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham from 1923 to 1984.

History

It was designed by the architect Harold Seymour Scott in the Art Deco style, and opened on 26 March 1923 with a seating capacity of 1,111.

It was taken over by ABC Cinemas in March 1935 who refurbished the building and increased the seating to 1,506. [1] It re-opened on 16 December 1935.

In July 1951, the Oak Cinema was voted the second cleanest cinema in the country and the manager, Roy Fielder was presented with a Silver Medal by A.H. Sayer, chairman of the Birmingham Public Entertainments Committee.

In 1966 the chief projectionist was John Radcliff and the manager was Mr Harris.

ABC ownership lasted until April 1978 when the building was sold to an independent concern. This was short lived and the cinema closed on 3 November 1979. The final films were 'The Spaceman and King Arthur' and the Disney movie 'Dumbo'.[2]

The building stood derelict until demolished in December 1984. A Sainsburys supermarket was built on its site.

References

  1. Maxam, Andrew: Selly Oak and Weoley Castle on old picture postcards (Reflections of a Bygone Age 2005) image 5
  2. Dowling, Geoff; Giles, Brain; and Hayfield, Colin: Selly Oak Past and Present: A Photographic Survey of a Birmingham Suburb (Department of Geography, University of Birmingham 1987) p7
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.