The Atherley Cinema, situated on the corner of Shirley Road and Newlands Road, was opened on 14th September 1912, and was Southampton's first purpose-built cinema (it was easier to find sites for new buildings in the suburbs than the town centre). It was named after the Atherley family who had previously owned the land on which the cinema was built. The cinema was constructed by local builder William Dalton Buck, who also initially managed the cinema, as did his son Jack in the 1920s and 1930s.
The cinema originally seated 650 patrons, but it was so successful that in 1919 it was enlarged to seat 1,000. The cinema closed down in 1975 and was converted to a bingo hall.
The Atherley Cinema, Shirley Road
The Atherley photographed in 1975 just before closure as a
cinema.
External links:
Further reading:
Dream Palaces, by Bill White. (HS/r)
Southampton Cinemas, by John C. Shephard. (HS/r)
The Big Show: British Cinema Culture in the Great War 1914-1918, by Michael Hammond. (HS/r)
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