The Scala, later called the Lyric, was situated in St Denys Road, near Cobden Bridge. This purpose-built cinema, which was opened in 1914 to serve the people of St Denys and Bitterne Park, had 550 seats and boasted a glass awning to shelter patrons waiting to see its films. Its first owner was Percy Bowyer, owner of three other cinemas in the Southampton area. In 1926 it was refurbished and improved, re-opening as the Lyric. It closed down in 1940 and the building was afterwards used as a warehouse and a bathroom centre. It has since been demolished.
Further reading:
Dream Palaces: Going to the Pictures in Southampton, by Bill White, p46. (HS/r)
Southampton Cinemas, by John C. Shepherd.. (HS/r)
The Big Show: British Cinema Culture in the Great War 1914-1918, by Michael Hammond, p16, 25, 40. (HS/r)
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