« Whickham Shops | Main | The Imperial, Dunston (The Bottom Hall) »
The Albert, Dunston (The Top Hall)
The Albert Picture Palace
Opened in 1912 on Ravensworth Road and locally known as "The Top Hall". It had a ground floor and a balcony and was owned by a local syndicate. In 1959 it boasted that it had "The most modern cinemascope equipment in the north". When it first opened it showed silent films and had various types of acts and performers. It closed in 1960 when it was briefly a club and then a bingo hall before eventual demolition to make way for the Derwent Court re-development scheme.
Comments
Remember the balcony seats, especially the never used Royal Boxes. Do you have any details of the JOKE SHOP owned by Harry Harris, bought my first comic there?
Posted by: Bob Walton at May 3, 2007 8:39 PM
Re the Albert Cinema, yes, the seats upstairs in the Circle were much better than those in the Stalls.
All I remember of the joke shop was that it was at the bottom end, nearest the staiths, of Ravensworth Road, on the east side and was of wooden construction. It was open in the early post-war years, exact date not known. Harry Harris got a lot of his stock from fire sales, that is after a fire, any undamaged goods would be sold off cheap.
He later had a shop at the corner of Ravensworth Road opposite the Dun Cow, and once lived in Duckpool Lane, near the Crowley pub, halfway between Dunston and Swalwell.
Posted by: Whickham Web Wanderers at May 5, 2007 10:45 AM