Picture House Memories

Matt_S

Matt_S

A few posts under my belt
Hello Stafford Forums

Myself and some of the Team at The Picture House will be putting on a celebration on the 23rd of February next year to celebrate 100years of the building.

We are looking for people with memories of it as a cinema who would be happy to come and talk on camera for a special documentary film being made to be aired inside the picture house and online.

We would also love any pictures/video material anyone has from across the years. Even when it was an early wetherspoons in the mid 90s.

If you dont want too appear on camera and just want to submit your memories please post below of send me a PM

A rundown of the basic history:
- Opened as the Picture House in 1914 showing The House Of Temperley
- Ran as a cinema all the way up until the 30th march 1995
- Opened as a wetherspoons in 1997 as it is today
 
Glam

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
upthevale said:
Myself and some of the Team at The Picture House will be putting on a celebration on the 23rd of February next year to celebrate 100years of the building.


A rundown of the basic history:
- Opened as the Picture House in 9014 showing The House Of Temperley
- Ran as a cinema all the way up until the 30th march 1995
Click to expand...
A Back to the Future experience?
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
It's worth trying the Search function, there's been a good bit of chat about the various cinemas over the years - e.g http://www.staffordforum.com/xf/ind...nder-of-staffords-past.2396/page-5#post-47490


Gramaisc said:
And nobody's mentioned the Picture House. I only saw a couple of films in the Odeon ( under protest ) and remember the last one that I saw in the Picture House - Britannia Hospital - there were six people in the audience and the manager shook all our hands as we left, it was like being greeted by the vicar after a funeral.
Click to expand...
 
staffordjas

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
I remember it ,but wouldn't fancy talking on camera.

My memories are mostly of trying to find my way to the seats in the dark-bloody hard work falling up the steps and the usherettes little torches didn't help much! Me & my mate used to go and watch horror films most friday nights.
(And watching the Exorcist there . I screamed at a none-scary bit, grabbed the man next to me :heyhey: , he grabbed his girl friend who in turn screamed and the whole audience was in hysterical laughter for a few minutes afterwards!)

A much nicer cinema than the Odeon!
 
S

Sir BoD

Well-Known Forumite
I went in Wetherspoons' on the first few weekends it had opened, so I'm not too sure if this happened at the beginning or week or two later.

On the right hand side entrance, just before the first set of stairs (where there's still a table) , a young couple were having a meal, whilst me and a mate were supping back a bottle of Wetherspoon's finest tipple at the time, Hooper's Hooch - we were situated just to the side of this table.

All of a sudden, there was a large thumping sound from the direction of said couple's table, followed by a huge billow of dust rising up. A great big chunk of plaster had come crashing down from the ceiling and all over this couple's meal - they just sat there not knowing what the hell had just happened to them.

A young bar superviser, who I remember being quite a live-wire and very enthusiastic fellow, came rushing over, apologised for the incident, asked if they were OK and enquired if they would like to have another meal seated elsewhere. He then prompted to put a couple of chairs either side of the spot to prevent people from walking under a possible further avalanche, and the night carried on as normal. Well as normal a night can be in a Wetherspoons'.

To this day, you can still just about see the outline of where they had to repair it.
 
basil

basil

don't mention the blinds
The 'Exit' signs had secondary power source (elf n safety) in the Picture House they were lit by gas. So our fun was blow them out. For the longest time there was a blind man outside selling matches.....
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
basil said:
The 'Exit' signs had secondary power source (elf n safety) in the Picture House they were lit by gas. So our fun was blow them out. For the longest time there was a blind man outside selling matches.....
Click to expand...

....Who used to whistle
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Does fingering the girl from down the road at the original 2001 Space Odyssey film screening count..?

(Matinee)
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
It was a great cinema, the steepness of the seating was such that even as a kid you didn't have to look at the back of someone's head.

With all due respect to Wetherspoons for saving it from a possibly worser fate, it is a great loss to the town.
 
basil

basil

don't mention the blinds
Just wondering how many ex cinemas and ex banks 'spoons have in their portfolio......
 
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