Abbeydale Picture House

Abbeydale Picture House (later Abbeydale Cinema) is a former cinema in the City of Sheffield, England. When opened by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield on 20 December 1920 the picture house was the largest and most luxurious cinema in Sheffield. The first film shown was "The Call of the Road" ( [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011042/ IMDB entry] ). The cinema had seating for 1,560 people and also included a ballroom and a billiard hall (the latter is still in operation). The cinema closed on 5 July 1975 and was used as an office furniture showroom until 1991. In 1989 the building was given a Grade II listing by English Heritage. In 2003 the Friends of Abbeydale Picture House—boasting patrons including Michael Palin, Peter Stringfellow and the John Lewis Partnership—was formed to "restore and manage the 'Picture Palace' as a community centre for the performing arts and visual media." They officially became the owners of the building on 21 December 2005.

References

*Harvey, Peter (1996). "Abbeydale and Millhouses", p12. Stround: The Charlford Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 0-7524-0732-5
* [http://www.abbeydalepicturehouse.co.uk/ The Friends of Abbeydale Picture House] (accessed 23 July 2005).
* [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=2&id=455105 Abbeydale Picture House.] "Images of England" (accessed 23 July 2005—free registration required).
* [http://www.guyjbrown.com/abbeydalepicturehouse.html Photographs of Abbeydale Picture House] (accessed 11 July 2006).