There has been a cinema on the site since the 1920s
It is now 15 years since a beloved cinema that once stood in the heart of one of Liverpool’s most famous streets closed its doors for good. For years to come, many will remember the trip to Allerton Road to visit the Odeon cinema.
Until its closure in the late 00s, the site had housed a cinema since 1928, when the 1,432-seat Plaza Cinema first opened. By 1971, the cinema had closed and was demolished, but the site soon welcomed a new shopping centre with a new modern single-screen Classic, complete with bar, air conditioning and almost 500 seats.
Since the 1980s the cinema has changed hands and names several times, firstly under the ownership of Cannon, then Virgin, ABC and finally Odeon, who took over in 2001. Many will remember the many years of going to the cinema on Allerton Road – in its various forms – for first dates, to celebrate a birthday and of course to see the latest films.
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In recent years the road was marked by the striking dark blue Odeon branding and a branch of Ethel Austin’s next door. For many, the cinema on Allerton Road was a regular fixture and meant that locals didn’t have to travel into Liverpool city centre to see new releases.
But in February 2009 it was “the end of a 70-year era” when the historic Odeon closed its doors for good. On 19 February that year the ECHO reported that the venue would close on 26 February after the venue’s landlord had been notified.
The last films to be shown at the single-screen venue were Disney animated film Bolt and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt. When the news was announced, cinemagoers told the ECHO they were shocked by the decision.
Michelle Parr, 31, from Allerton, said at the time: “It’s awful. I can’t believe they’re closing it down. It’ll probably be another bar, but we’ve got enough bars as it is. They’re ruining the area. You can’t have everything in the town centre. There should be things in other places.”
Do you remember Allerton Road’s Odeon? Let us know in the comments below.
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Sally Haymes, 29, from Mossley Hill, said: “I’ve lived in the area all my life and always come to this cinema. It’s a nice cinema so I’m surprised to hear it’s closing.”
And Jane Reilly, 30, from Mossley Hill, said: “I remember coming here as a little girl and I still go here occasionally when there’s a good film on. “It’s nice to be able to just walk to the cinema and not have to park. I used to work at the Odeon in London Road but that’s closed now. It was a lovely old building but it’s all boarded up and run down now.”
Images, courtesy of our archives, have not been seen for many years and capture what the site looked like in its final days. You can see the outside of the Odeon as it looked in 2009, as well as Martin Ellis, Managing Director, outside the site.
Martin Ellis said at the time: “These are difficult times financially and it is difficult to keep this cinema open when there is only one screen.” An Odeon spokesman said earlier: “The cinema will close its doors to the public on 26 February after being notified by the venue’s landlord.
“We would like to thank all the guests who have visited Odeon Allerton Road over the years and the team members who have contributed so much to the running of the cinema. We wish the management and the rest of the team all the best for the future.”
Another photo, courtesy of David Simpson via Cinema Treasures, shows the exterior of the cinema before it became an Odeon in 1999. These photos are advertising Disney’s A Bugs Life and will no doubt bring back memories.
The closure of the Odeon on Allerton Road came shortly after a new Odeon complex opened at Liverpool ONE, replacing the Odeon on London Road, which closed on 30 September 2008. The former cinema site on Allerton Road is now home to Anytime Fitness.
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