Howard Haas reports that in late October, he vacationed in England. Fellow THSA member Ken Roe, of London, obtained access to visit the ODEON WOOD GREEN, a London neighborhood cinema built in the Art Moderne style in 1934 and now used as a church. That afternoon, the Cinema Theatre Association hosted at London’s historic PHOENIX cinema a screening of short films about historic London cinemas, especially their grand openings. Howard asked Ken to introduce him to others, hoping he would meet people whose Internet postings of comments or photos he has seen. The first person that Howard was introduced to, Jeremy, replied “I met you in Philadelphia at the Conclave.” It is indeed a small world. Before departing London, Howard was surprised to see a couple purchase a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket at the concession stand of the EMPIRE cinema in Leicester Square. How elegant!
In the Manchester region, Howard visited the PLAZA in STOCKPORT an extravagant 1930s Art Deco “super cinema” that was saved by its local citizenry after the theater was no longer viable for bingo, its use in recent decades as film exhibition changed.
Many photos of the Plaza are here:
The Plaza’s meticulous 2009 restoration was chronicled here:
It now hosts legit theater and classic films. Howard immensely enjoyed a very fine local production of “My Fair Lady” and equally enjoyed the theater.
Howard chatted with two gentlemen who were working the spotlights and was intrigued as to how lighting is a key feature inside the theater. The entire auditorium is equipped with a lighting scheme with all the colors of the rainbow, and the colors are changed throughout the performance
The theater’s original in house restaurant had suffered dropped ceilings, but every aspect has also been beautifully restored. At Intermission it wonderfully serves as a bar. Its original green and gold color scheme is seen replicated here:
Howard believes assertions that the Plaza is the best surviving historic “super cinema” in the north of England. Howard returned from his vacation refreshed and ready to continue the battle for Philadelphia’s Boyd!
