SUBURBAN CINEMAS
EMPRESS. Eldon Street.
The Empress, Eldon Street, was opened on the 12th Octo-
ber 1929 fitted with its Western Electric sound system, it
was described as the “atmospheric cinema.” The atmos-
pheric decorations and lighting effects, “Said the hand out”
are entirely different to any other cinema in Preston. “Lido
and frescoes were said to be transformed” with beautiful
effect by an ingenuous system of changing colors.
The capacity of the Empress was 900 and the management
was congratulated on their enterprises and the comfortable
seats at low prices. Special comment was made about the
knee room at suggestions that elsewhere they were tending
to pack em in. The cinema also had a Snack Bar joining the
main building.
CARLTON CINEMA. Blackpool Road
Carlton cinema. Blackpool Road, In the 1930's the Cinemato-
graph Exhibitors Association spoke of “unmistakable signs of
overbuilding, over reaching and over expansion in the cinema
industry,” and referred to reckless construction of new under
superfluous picture houses for purely speculative or unneces-
scary reasons.” but despite this warning, the coming of sound led
to further new theaters and when the Carlton on Blackpool Road
was opened by Mr. Moorcroft on Monday, 8th August 1932, it
could described itself as the only cinema in Preston built for
talkies “Terry Green, who now looks after the Bingo at the
Carlton is the theaters former chief projectionist and, although
what was the balcony has now become a suite of offices, he can
now take you to a point where the blacken ceiling and pro-
scenium arch of the original building can still be clearly seen.
The 650 seater, independently owned, was eventually equipped
for Cinemascope but Terry Green particularly recalls the “bar”
which put cinemas like the Carlton rather low in the pecking
order of booking the newer films. After the town center, even
the Empress had priority and, to make things worse, the news-
reel was always three weeks old. The most popular offering
seems to have been “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers”, which
had about ten separate bookings. The change to Bingo came in
November 1961, with a run of 36 successful years ending July
27th 1997, the building is now a children’s play center named
“Tumble Jungle.” the children's play center ceased trading in 2001,
the building stood empty untill 2006 when it was demolisht to
build houses and apartments.
LIDO CINEMA. Marsh Lane
Lido originally the Regal one of the smaller cinemas in the
town, tried to keep going with continental X rated films and
audiences were good for a time.
The long hot summer of 1959 exhausted the loyalty of this
new found audience and in November (1959) the Lido was
the eighth cinema to close. The building eventually became
the present day tyre depot.
