Walkley Palladium, Sheffield 1914 - 1962.
WALKLEY PALLADIUM, South Road/Heighton Street, opened: 17-12-14
Architect: John E Whitehead
Capacity: 1000 (1914); 940 (1935); 855 (1954)
Proprietors: Walkley Palladium Ltd. Closed: 6-10-62
From The Yorkshire Post 28th April 1914
From The Telegraph and Star 17th December 1914
The Walkley Palladium opened its doors to the public on the 17th of December 1914, and had individual upholstered seating for all its 1,000 patrons. Externally the building had imitation stone dressing and pilasters. The auditorium itself had a balcony on three sides with the entrance at the screen end on the building. Twin Kaylee projectors screened Brewstwrs Millions, war news and a cartoon on the opening night. A orchestra of six musicians accompanied the performances at 6.50 pm, 9.00 pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30 pm.
Talkies made their first performance on the 25th of November, 1929, the sixth Sheffield cinema to be converted for sound. Equipment was by Western Electric and it's first use was for the showing of a film "Rainbow Man".
During the next couple of years various improvements were made to the Palladium including the re-decoration of the auditorium. Hand painted Lakeland scenes were painted on the ceiling which were surrounded by mouldings of crimson and gold. These were lit by six suspended lanterns in lemon and pink. New tub type seating was installed in 1935.
The projection room was at ground level on Highton Street. The Chief Projectionist Arthur Norton was presented with a cheque in 1962 for £25 in recognition of 25 years of service. This coincided with the final performance in October of that year. The cinema was demolished and replaced by a supermarket. There is no indication that this site was once Walkley's "window to the world"
Note
In 2021 I was contacted by a local resident who pointed out
that there used to be a Hay Merchants (I think called Horsefalls) between the Palladium and the first shop on the
right. The sign was there but when I was young it was just a passageway where a lady wearing a turban sold hay and
loose pet food. The arch was in fact a slope that went up to an exit from the cinema. Queues would form up there when people were waiting to go into
the 'second house. They would often ask those coming out if the film was any good!
Sources
The Yorkshire Post 28th April 1914
The Telegraph and Star 17th December 1914
Sheffield History Forum
This page was last updated on 03/05/21 16:45