Derby was the first place to show a children’s matinee film in the country.
Glance at a copy of the Derby Daily Telegraph anytime in the 1920s and 1930s and you will be amazed by the number of places you could watch a film on a Saturday night.
At one stage, there were up to 20 cinemas in operation, both in the town centre and out into Alvaston, Chaddesden and Spondon.
Yet once televisions became easier and cheaper to purchase in the 1950s, there was a gradual decline through to the 21st century when the era of the multiplex sprang up and once again gave people as much choice as they had almost a century ago.
There are now 36 screens in the city at four venues – Quad, Odeon and Showcase cinemas in Derby Intu and Foresters Park, Sinfin.
Essentially, the golden age of cinema-going in Derby was at its height for about 40 to 50 years and, truth be told, most of the lovely buildings and furnishings have been destroyed.
Just a few recognisable venues are still around, such as the former Gaumont and then Odeon, in London Road, now home to Cosmo restaurant.
The likely earliest commercial film showing was in Mickleover in February 1900 when children were allowed to watch the Great American Bioscope for 1d.
There was no cinema just a school hall and is believed to be the first children’s matinee in the country.
The matinee preceded a film for adults. Exactly why the show took place at Mickleover, which has never had a cinema, is not known and there is no record of any further shows being held.
The Temperance Hall, in Curzon Street, was also an early place in Derby where silent films were shown, dating from 1904.
But it all started big-time commercially in Derby when the Midland Electric Theatre, in Babington Lane, opened its doors on July 27, 1910.
It later became the Picture House and the Ritz and eventually was knocked down and replaced by a furniture store.
Read more: https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/gallery/you-remember-any-derby-cinemas-4169870