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| The Century Cinema |
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Location: The Broadway, Pitsea Photographer: Unknown Year of photo: 1940s Copyright: N/A Comments: |
| The Century Cinema |
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| The Century cinema in Pitsea Broadway first opened
in 1929. Its original name was Broadway and was one of a number of buildings credited to local
businessman Harold George Howard. It had seating for 700 and would also provide a whole
host of entertainment including variety shows and wrestling, as well as a childrens Saturday
morning matinee. During the 1940s it became part of the local Radion (Rayleigh) Ltd., group of
cinemas and was managed by Mr. James L. Webster, a director of the company. In February 1955 the
cinema was acquired by the Granada Cinema Circuit who renamed it Century. It closed as a cinema in October 1970 and following a change of use to Bingo became the Granada Social Club. Outwardly the buildings appearance remains little altered from when it was first built. The building is still in use and now owned by Bass and renamed Gala. In July 1952 it was the venue for the crowning of the carnival queen, and in 1955 held a celebrity attended evening to promote the namechange to Century. Text written 2006 with revisions 2006-2007. Copyright © 2006-2007, Basildon History Online. All rights reserved. |
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