Ramsgate's Odeon and the demolition of a Herne Bay cinema

From the collection of

Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton collects, preserves, catalogues and provides public access to its collection of films and magic lantern slides. The collection charts the rise of screen culture in the region and the nation and captures many aspects of life, work and creativity in the South East from the late 19th century to the present day. It is available for research, screenings, creative re-use and commercial access.

Ramsgate's Odeon and the demolition of a Herne Bay cinema

Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton
Ramsgate
1985-10-01
Sound
7m

The end of an era with two former Odeon cinemas facing the bulldozers

Alan Stingemore's poignant film starts in Ramsgate's King Street where the town's former Odeon, renamed the Classic, awaits a developer. Despite the dilapidated look of the building, we get wonderful views of the Art Deco detailing. We then move to Avenue Road, Herne Bay where another Odeon cinema, which had become part of the Cannon group, is being demolished. While the bulldozer is busy at work on the auditorium we visit the abandoned projection booth.

Between the 1950s and 1990s Alan Stingemore made a considerable number of films covering a wide variety of subjects with a particular emphasis on railways and cinemas. His films often capture memorable events like those shown in this film or last 'glimpses' of subjects that were about to disappear forever. During the 1980s Alan travelled throughout the region and beyond filming old cinemas, particularly if they were about to be demolished.These films form a fitting tribute to the memory of these buildings, often designed in the 'Moderne' or Art Deco style, which are now lost forever.

Silver Screens: A Century of Cinemagoing

From the picture palaces of the past to modern multiplexes...

The cinema has always been so much more than just a place to watch films. At the heights of its powers, the silver screen stood for spectacle, sophistication, electricity and elegance as well as entertainment, and the very venues themselves were star attractions. These architectural marvels stood proud in cities and towns up and down the country, enthralling audiences in their thousands in the days when "going to the pictures" was a national pastime.

For over a century, cinema has endured, and cinemas have changed with the times. The rise of television, video and home cinemas may have splintered the cultural dominance of the movies while bringing films to smaller and more convenient screens, but the thrill of the communal experience remains - as do many of the monumental structures themselves, whether they have been converted into bingo halls, renovated into plush modern picture houses, or left to loom over the high street.

This collection celebrates the cinema as both a cultural icon and a haven for generations of starry-eyed dreamers, and documents the changing face of filmgoing from the bygone bioscopes and the lavish picture palaces of yesteryear to the sticky-floored multiplexes of today. So dim the lights, grab your popcorn, and lose yourself in the magic of the silver screen.