Odeon Cinema, Manchester
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The Odeon Cinema, Manchester (originally known as the Paramount Theatre or the Paramount Cinema) was a former
Odeon Cinema Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name ...
located on
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was close to St. Peter’s Square, within the Civic Quarter of
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
. It was demolished in April 2017, to be replaced by Landmark, a 14-storey office building, as part of a major transformation of the area.


Pre 1930

The location of the theatre had originally been developed towards the end of the 18th century; by the 1930s the site had been fully developed, featuring a mix of commercial and residential properties. By the start of the 20th century, the site was used entirely for commercial purposes, and it featured two
pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. The site was cleared by 1930 for the construction of the Paramount Theatre.


Cinema

The Paramount Theatre on Oxford Street, Manchester, opened on 6 October 1930, showing ''
The Love Parade ''The Love Parade'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, involving the marital difficulties of Queen Louise of Sylvania (MacDonald) and her consort, C ...
'', and featuring a
variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
on stage. The theatre was built for the
Paramount Film Company of America Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, and was designed by
Frank Verity Francis Thomas Verity (1864–1937) was an English cinema architect during the cinema building boom of the years following World War I. Early life Verity was born in London, educated at Cranleigh and joined Thomas Verity, his father, in his ...
and S. Beverley (now known as Verity & Beverley), who had also built the Plaza Theatre in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It was one of 50 proposed Paramount Theatres, and was one of the first open, and the first in the UK to bear the company's name; others included Paramount
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Paramount
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, Paramount
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Paramount
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, Paramount
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and Paramount,
Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...
, London. A single-screen cinema, it was capable of seating 2,920 people on two levels (the Stalls and the Balcony), and the building also contained a fully equipped stage, a
fly tower A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of rope lines, blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components suc ...
,
dressing room A changing-room, locker-room, (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context) or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...
s, an
orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...
, an organ and a cafe. The cinema was designed to operate in the cine-variety era; it was mostly used to show films (such as those featuring
Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
and
Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
) but it also put on live stage shows (including those by Francis A Mangan, which were accompanied by a full orchestra). It was purchased in November 1939 by
Oscar Deutsch Oscar Deutsch (12 August 1893 – 5 December 1941)Allen Eyles, ‘Deutsch, Oscar (1893–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 29 April 2011/ref> was a British-Hungarian businessman. He was the fou ...
as part of the Odeon Theatres Ltd, and was renamed as the ''Odeon'' in 1940. It became a Rank cinema in 1941. Its piano lounge subsequently hosted
Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
among others. The building featured a stone-faced façe with four bays, and a full-width
canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
, both facing Oxford Street. The cinema had three levels, one of which is a
mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...
. The foyers and auditorium were decorated in a
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style; the building also had a large rounded
proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
and an illustration of the sky on the ceiling. The theatre was divided in 1973 to become a twin screen cinema, at which time the organ was removed. It gained a third screen in 1979, and four more screens were added in 1992 using the basement and stage areas; it opened as a seven-screen cinema on 8 May 1992. The cinema had a private car park with a small number of parking spaces to the rear. In 1992, it hosted the premiere of ''
A Few Good Men ''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced by Reiner, David Brown and Andrew Scheinman. It stars an ensemble cast including Tom Cru ...
''. The theatre originally had a
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
Publix One
theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...
with 4 manuals and 20 ranks of pipes, specified by
Jesse Crawford Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...
. It was planned to install one of these in each of the 50 Paramount theatres, however this was the only one to be installed, and the only one of that model to leave the United States. When the theatre was divided, the organ was acquired by the Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust, loaned to the
City of Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...
and relocated to the
Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. T ...
(a process taking four years); and was first used there in September 1977. When the Free Trade Hall closed, it was subsequently moved to the
Stockport Town Hall Stockport Town Hall is a building in Stockport, England, that houses the government and administrative functions of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. Stockport Town Hall is a Grade II* listed building. History The building, which was des ...
's Great Hall. The cinema closed in September 2004 after 74 years in use, due to competition from the
AMC Great Northern The Great Northern Warehouse is the former railway goods warehouse of the Great Northern Railway in Manchester city centre, England, which was refurbished into a leisure complex in 1999. The building is at the junction of Deansgate and Peter St ...
. After its closure, it was occasionally used as a church. In 1999, the building was considered for
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
status as part of a thematic survey of cinemas, however it was rejected as too many of the original features had been removed. When the cinema closed in 2004, the orchestra pit, stage, proscenium, ceiling and foyer areas were still partly intact (although hidden), and could be restored. It was thought to be the oldest cinema in Manchester's city centre. However, an additional assessment in February 2007 also rejected listing the building;
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
explained that this was due to the extensive removal of its original features and the extensive interior damage to the building. It was claimed that this damage had been "systematic and methodical", although the current owners stated that they had only carried out "limited and entirely lawful exposure works". It was certified as being immune from listing on 25 July 2007 (renewed 28 November 2012). Permission to demolish the building was given in September 2016. The building was demolished in April 2017.


Office building

The cinema is scheduled to be replaced with an office building named Landmark, matching the adjacent
One St Peter's Square One St Peter's Square is a high-rise office building in Manchester, England. It is situated in St Peter's Square in the city centre. Elisabeth House The previous building on the site was Elisabeth House, an office block constructed of concret ...
. The building will have of office floor space over 14 storeys, as well as a three-level 116-space basement car park, in a 0.18
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
site. It is being developed by Hines UK Limited and Manchester & Metropolitan Properties Limited, and designed by
Squire and Partners Squire and Partners is a British architectural firm founded in 1976 known for designing and executing buildings on key sites in London and internationally. Projects Key projects cover a range of sectors, varying from small bespoke fitouts to lar ...
. Planning permission was originally obtained on 15 February 2007, and was due to be completed in 2009. At the time, the building aimed to hold 2,000 workers, and would cost £45 million. The permission was extended in September 2010. and renewed in August 2013, with some tweaks to meet
BREEAM BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of ...
'excellent' standards. Construction is not planned to start until market conditions are suitable – in particular, until pre-let deals have been arranged with the first occupiers.


References

{{Manchester B&S Proposed buildings and structures in Manchester Buildings and structures in Manchester Odeon Cinemas Former cinemas in Manchester Demolished buildings and structures in Manchester Buildings and structures demolished in 2017