Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds

The Hyde Park Picture House in the Hyde Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England Built by Thomas Winn & Sons, it opened on 7 November 1914 and is one of the oldest cinemas in the country.[1]

As a Grade II listed building, the Hyde Park Picture House still boasts many original features including nine operational gas lights and a decorated Edwardian balcony. The cinema has a small stage, with a piano alongside, which is regularly used during live musical accompaniments. It is the only gas lit cinema remaining in use in the UK and the oldest purpose built cinema in Leeds. It has two 35mm film projectors which are regularly used, particularly during Leeds International Film Festival, during which the cinema operates as a main venue. The ornate lamp outside the entrance is also Grade II listed but no longer gas powered.

The cinema is open every day and screens a wide variety of films, with a focus on specialised cinema including independent, art house, classic and foreign language. There are two evening screenings every day, with matinee showings on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Family Films play every Saturday at 12noon and Bring Your Own Baby screenings are on during most Wednesdays at 11am.

Its distinctive exterior has led to it being used as a backdrop in many films and TV programmes including the feature length TV drama A Is for Acid, the Vanessa Redgrave film Wetherby and the two part BBC One TV film The Great Train Robbery.

References

  1. ↑ Wrathmell, Susan (2005), Leeds, Yale University Press, p. 193, ISBN 0300107366

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Coordinates: 53°48′44″N 1°34′09″W / 53.812137°N 1.569272°W