The Metropole Theatre stood proudly in Manchester for over 60 years, providing entertainment for families across the city.
When it first opened on Ashton Old Road in Openshaw in 1898, the Metropole Theatre was the second to be built and operated by the Broadheads Theatres chain. It was designed by the architect J.J. Alley who also designed Manchester’s Hulme Hippodrome.
The Metropole had a 28ft wide stage which dominated the space, 2,000 seats and two boxes either side of the stage. As well as drama shows, locals could watch opera and pantomime performances there.
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From around 1909 to 1927, silent films were also shown at the theatre. The 1930s would be a turbulent time for The Metropole, with it showing its final play, The Dumb Man of Manchester, before closing as a theatre for good in 1938.
The curtain fell across the stage for the final time, but thankfully this wasn’t the end of the Metropole. In August 1938, the building reopened as Metropole Cinema after being bought by the Moorhouse chain of cinemas.
The seating capacity decreased slightly to 1,420, and a sound system was fitted. Many locals enjoyed the cinema for two decades before its closure in April 1959.
The final films to be shown at the Metropole were These Dangerous Years starring Frankie Vaughan and Dig That Uranium which featured the comedy team The Bowery Boys. After standing empty for a few years, the Metropole was demolished in 1962, thus ending over 60 years of family entertainment.
One person who visited the Metropole Theatre when they were younger recalled on Facebook the “many happy hours” they spent there. What are your memories of the theatre and cinema? Let us know in the comments section below.
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