Nottingham Odeon

When I visited Nottingham last month, I had to be sure to pass by my former place of employment, the Odeon cinema in the center of town. I knew it had shut down though, so there wasn't much to see, just the blank marquee with a sign advertising the asbestos removers.



When I got home, though, I was curious to see what photos I could find of the place online. I was hoping to find photos from when it was still in use, but most of what I found was of its current, gutted state.

This blog post has some photos taken by some people who managed to sneak inside. They describe the building as being stripped and full of pigeons. A similar photo is here of the main theater, empty of any seats, wall covering, or carpeting. I did find this photo showing the main theater when it was still in use, just before the cinema closed, apparently. It was a huge theater, I can't remember how many it held, something like 500 or so? Maybe more... I remember when I was being taken on my first tour of the building, when we passed through this theater Eyes Wide Shut was playing. During my searches for photos and information, I learned that the stage in this hall was used for live concerts in the 60's and the Beatles played there three times in 1963-64.

Though working there wasn't the most brilliant time of my life, I do have some fond memories of some of the people I worked with, and the times I sat in on one film or another. It's unfortunate the cinema had to close down, if anything it would have been interesting to wander around it again.