Welcome, to all with an interest in the former Futurist Cinema. My name is Lesley Mullally & this is my personal blog about Liverpool’s first purpose built iconic cinema “The Futurist”. I have passed this building many times and often wondered about its past. I believe the Futurist Cinema is of special architectural merit, within the Liverpool street scene. This building has had a “HARD DAYS NIGHT”. The Futurist celebrated its Centenary “closed, deteriorated and forgotten about”. Let me take you on “A DAY IN THE LIFE” of this majestic building. Your comments, thoughts and feelings may become a catalyst for the future of this Building. ENJOY & CONTRIBUTE! Lesley
The Futurist Cinema 1912 – 1982
A resource to promote & Inspire the restoration of Liverpool's first purpose Built Cinema.
Hello Lesley,
Apologies,better late than never,i am fully supportive of everything you are undergoing in saving this most marvelous building.Naturally like many of your contributor’s,i have so many fond coming of age memories of visiting this cinema with my folk’s.Early recollection’s such as “Where Eagle’s Dare”and the unfortunate poor excitable navigational skills of an over excited twelve year old leading his Mother&Father to the back row,just under this strange huge black box(it was the sensurround sound system)to offer the real “Earthquake”experience that Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner in 1974 were dodging falling debris to.The three of us had to use sign language post natural disaster episode,in an era when disaster films were the vogue,i never thought i’d become sufficient enough to read lips.My ears are ok now..my only wish is that The Futiurist felt the same.
If you need any assistance,i would only be too happy to comply.
Regards.
Mark.
Hi Lesley, Good on you for trying to save this beautiful building. I just wondered..who actually owns it thesedays? Paul
Alright Lesley, I’m Ian, I met you on Saturday and you gave me an interview which was great stuff. I would love to get involved to help with your efforts and anything I can do to help out please just give us a shout. THANKS A BUNCH
Great stuff Ian, it was great to meet you too on Saturday I think what u do is great. Ill keep I up to date with what’s going on & if u need me for anything just let me know x
This is a beautiful building and part of our heritage. It would be a tragedy if it was not restored to it’s original splendour.
That was the reason I loved going into town as a child, looking at the historical buildings and imagining what time was like when they were in use. And when are they going to do something with the old Lewis’s building? And theres another one over the road from the one pictured, on the corner of Great Charlotte St which also looks a little like a cinema. We have enough shops!!! We have a cinema. Plenty of swimming baths around the city. We need something else!!! For all ages! Lets look after the old buildings and do them all up. I’ll happily be one of the cleaners, besides I need the extra work.
At the moment Lime St is a disgrace and it’s the first view visitors have of our city, that’s not good. We have little to offer tourists or locals if we are trying to encourage visitors while detering them.
We have lost much and can’t replace that, we can’t simply keep buildings as costly monuments, they need to be given a new use but also be listed. Look at the old RLH it’s lovely, earns its keep, daily use as a surgery and occasional use as a film set. History well
preserved online and in archives. Win win situation, imagine of it had been demolished. The new RLH across the road is a monstrosity and there are calls for its demolishion. No building should ever stand empty, if need be let charities or groups use them in the short term while looking for investors to give them a new lease of life.
We need a mix of new and old, need to showlight our innovation failing that blindfold visitors do that their first sight of our city is better than this. We need to improve the frontages, tie them into our heritage and tourism and find new uses for the interiors xx
Hi
I am very much interested in getting involved with saving the Futurist, be on a volunteer or day to day involvement.
Stumbled on this site purely by chance. The bus to and from work used to take me past the Futurist every day and brought back happy memories of cinema going in the 1970s and queuing up to see Monty Python’s Life of Brian which was so controversial when first shown there. The building deserves a ‘future’ in what is planned for this part of the city centre.
I have some memories of this cinema; I went to see a film there in 1981/1982, my dad also knew the last owner when the cinema was due for closure. This building should be saved before it convieniently ‘collapses’ and thus, saves Liverpool City Council the headache of more than a facade restoration. All that money spent on the ’08 farce and Lime Street still looks like this.
I would be very interested in helping you with this campaign if I can, mail me.
Hi,
I really appreciate everything you are doing, we have lost too much of our city as it is. I am a graphic designer and would love to help in some way if i can. So if you ever need anything created let me know (pro bono obv)
I echo what viv Thomas says, it would be a criminal act to pull this beautiful building down. It is not just the town centre that has lost iconic buildings, other parts of the city have too, so its refreshing to hear somebody cares. Good on you for your tireless work, the city deserves it. Well done to you from a grateful resident of our remarkable city
Have I missed the boat here, I can’t seem to sign the petition, but I see a message saying 500 signatures reached. Does that mean the petition has closed? 😦
No definitely not, I don’t know why u can’t sign it? That’s strange. Here’s the link again, try clicking on this:
http://goo.gl/B7hml
This cinema has also been celebrated by the Observer film critic Philip French (OBE) who was born in Liverpool. Maybe his name will help in the rescue of this great building. Worth dropping him a line.
The council needs to save buildings like this. They already made a huge mistake in allowing the overhead railway to get demolished. Buildings like these need to be saved and restored. Such great memories in a fantastic building.
Count on my support and well done again for doing this !
Hi Lesley/Sue,
Great site and campaign. Have just blogged on http://streetsofliverpool.co.uk to add my support.
All the best, Colin
Hurray at last someone is doing something to preserve our Liverpool Heritage. I’d love to see this cinema running again. Its in such a prime position on Lime Street to develop it as a tourist attraction if its taken back to its Art Deco roots.
Hi Lesley, I am currently writing a new play for the Liverpool Everyman when it re-opens in 2014 which is inspired by – and partly set in – the ruins of The Futurist. It’s always been a special place for me and my family so it was great to discover your petition and blog. Keep up the good work, Jeff
The news that you’re attempting to save The Futurist warms my heart. I spent many an evening collecting money for RAFA in my ATC uniform in both the Futurist and Scala cinemas then staying (sometimes for higher rated films than strictly allowed) There was a staircase that joined the two. Fantastic old buildings that deserve better than the treatment they have received.
Hej Lesley,
I am the owner of the webpage http://www.thefuturist.org.uk; registered it a few years back, it rougly outlines what my idea is, though it’s grown much bigger by now. I’d love to see more happen than just saving the facade …
Drop me a line? Or meet up somewhere for a coffee / tea?
-C.
Agree, saving the front is not best thing, the building needs to be used….far far too much of the city’s buildings have been wiped out of existence by developers and planners and £££££ greed !
Hi Lesley – I’ve already signed the petition but wanted to ask you if you have a good copyright free colour photo or one where the copyright holder will give permission to use their photo in Liverpool Family Historian? I am the Editor of this journal and am interested in including a small piece in the March 2013 edition about the the cinema and your attempts to save it – we have a roughly 2,000 member circulation so it would spread the word further as well. Let me know what you think and if you can help. Deadline for copy is 15 January, so any help you can give by then would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. Mike Paice, FRSA.
I’ve a couple of photos of the interior on my facebook, I’ll see if I can figure out a way to share them here.
I’ve probably already pinched them!!
You are welcome to them!
Hi tony what’s your face book name & ill try & find u – I’m not the best on that, or u try and find me on it ‘ lesley mullally’
You can not let another part of our History be lost….. This building deserves to be restored back to it’s former glory…..