Final preparations are underway for the staging of a special event at Chester’s Grosvenor Museum which will chart the development of the City’s long gone picture palaces and the story of the men who owned them.
Â
Organised by popular website ChesterCinemas, the event, “Chester Cinemas and The Men Who Owned Them” which takes place in the lecture theatre of the museum on Saturday 8th June at 1.30pm will feature an illustrated talk presented by respected local Cinema historian and author David A. Ellis examining the golden era of cinemas in Chester, taking a nostalgic look back at the 11 long-gone picture palaces that Cestrians used to flock to and also the story of the influential cinema proprietors including Oscar Deutsch who was responsible for the building of Chester’s iconic Odeon cinema, celebrated Chester Showman Pat Collins, owner of The Majestic Cinema later the Majestic Ballroom in Brook Street, John Maxwell who built the Regal and The Ostrer Brothers, responsible for The Gaumont.
There will be a display of local Cinema memorabilia from The Roger Shone Collection plus a special video presentation,”The Cinemas of Chester” narrated by Dee 106.3 presenter Simon Davies which tells the story of Chester’s much loved picture palaces whilst taking a nostalgic look back at some of the films that came to the silver screen in the city over the years.
One of the event organisers, Peter Davies who worked at several cinemas in Chester over a fifty two year period including the Odeon said “David’s talk will feature some very unique and not seen before slides which will bring to life how to the cinema buildings in Chester came to be built on prime sites in the city as well as the fascinating story of the cinema owners themselves. We will also be screening a brand new presentation featuring film footage and photographs of the 11 cinemas we once had in Chester. The video tells the story of those great picture palaces and some of the iconic films which graced the screens over the years. It’s going to be a very special afternoon full of nostalgia which I’m sure will bring back many happy memories.”
Tickets for the event, which includes light refreshments are £4 and available via www.chestercinemas.co.uk or by telephone on 01244 520429.
