Gala Bingo used to be a Regal Cinema. Brief history quoted from Pirate on 28DaysLater forum.<\/p>\n
Opened on 15th February 1932, as ‘The Regal Cinema’ and the first film to be shown was “Splinters of the Navy” with Sydney Howard.<\/p>\n
In 1936 Union Cinemas took over, and the name changed along with it a year later in 1937. It was in 1938, however, that Union Cinemas were taken over by ABC (Asociated British Cinemas) and the ABC’s name was changed back to Regal, a year later, during 1938.<\/p>\n
After 23 years the cinema would have it’s name changed again! In August 1961 it became the ABC again. The Wurlitzer organ was removed in 1972, and taken to the ‘Musical Museum’ in nearby Brentford, where it can still be seen and heard today.<\/p>\n
I asked about the Wurlitzer In Brentford and have seen and heard it,i didn’t have camera with me at the time<\/p>\n
Closure came on July 17th 1976 after showing ‘Blondie’ and ‘Adventures of a Taxi Driver’ and it was not until 1991 that it would reopen, although only as a Coral Bingo Club. Since April 2010, Gala Bingo (who presumably took over from Coral) the building has been boarded up and closed down.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
79192<\/wpg2> 79240<\/wpg2><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
79188<\/wpg2><\/p>\n View of the stage.<\/p>\n
79192<\/wpg2><\/p>\n View of the stage, with light trails from us walking around.<\/p>\n
79167<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Abandoned furniture.<\/p>\n
79172<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Ironwork holding up the circle.<\/p>\n
79176<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Looking at the circle from the stage.<\/p>\n
79180<\/wpg2><\/p>\n The skylight above the stage.<\/p>\n
79184<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Looking out from the wings.<\/p>\n
79196<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Looking out over Kingston.<\/p>\n
79216<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Next to the flats.<\/p>\n
79232<\/wpg2> 79240<\/wpg2><\/p>\n Kingston one way system.<\/p>\n
79236<\/wpg2><\/p>\n View towards New Malden.<\/p>\n
79212<\/wpg2><\/p>\n The station.<\/p>\n
79228<\/wpg2><\/p>\n View over Kingston.<\/p>\n
79220<\/wpg2><\/p>\n The roof, the skylight above is the one above the stage.<\/p>\n
79224<\/wpg2>
\nView over Kingston.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gala Bingo used to be a Regal Cinema. Brief history quoted from Pirate on 28DaysLater forum. Opened on 15th February 1932, as ‘The Regal Cinema’ and the first film to be shown was “Splinters of the Navy” with Sydney Howard. In 1936 Union Cinemas took over, and the name changed along with it a year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[489],"tags":[487,24,488,490],"class_list":["post-645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-urbanexplorationphotos","tag-gala-bingo","tag-kingston","tag-regal-cinema","tag-urban-exploration"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pAkBY-ap","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1074,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1074","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":0},"title":"Imber Village visit","author":"MattWPBS","date":"December 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Imber Village was taken over by the military in 1943 for urban warfare practice prior to D-Day, with the promise made to the evicted villagers that they could return at the end of the year. That promised return never happened, and the village is closed to the public for most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Urban Exploration"","block_context":{"text":"Urban Exploration","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=489"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cropped-13222634884_425c82f425_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cropped-13222634884_425c82f425_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cropped-13222634884_425c82f425_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cropped-13222634884_425c82f425_o.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1058,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1058","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":1},"title":"Throwing Stuff at the Urban Bar in London","author":"MattWPBS","date":"December 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Throwing Stuff, Sam Russo and Boston Manor at the Urban Bar in London. 30th November 2013. Link to album. \u00a0 item\/13986","rel":"","context":"In "Bands"","block_context":{"text":"Bands","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1371,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1371","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":2},"title":"Slow Science at the Urban Bar in Whitechapel","author":"MattWPBS","date":"April 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Slow Science, The Dauntless Elite, Luke Godwin and Big Wow at the Urban Bar in Whitechapel. 25th September 2014. More photos and video of the show after break. [flickr_set id=\"72157649643691673\"]","rel":"","context":"In "Bands"","block_context":{"text":"Bands","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cropped-17150360511_7feac3a80c_k.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cropped-17150360511_7feac3a80c_k.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cropped-17150360511_7feac3a80c_k.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cropped-17150360511_7feac3a80c_k.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1446,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1446","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":3},"title":"Koji at All Saints Church in Kingston","author":"MattWPBS","date":"May 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Koji, The City On Film (Bob Nanna) and The Lion And The Wolf at All Saints Church in Kingston.","rel":"","context":"In "Bands"","block_context":{"text":"Bands","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1536,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1536","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":4},"title":"The Drowns in Kingston","author":"MattWPBS","date":"November 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Drowns, Bruise Control (3\/4) and First Time Dead. The Fighting Cocks, Kingston 17th October 2023. More photos after the break.","rel":"","context":"In "Live Music"","block_context":{"text":"Live Music","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DrowsKingston008-e1698965285636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DrowsKingston008-e1698965285636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DrowsKingston008-e1698965285636.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DrowsKingston008-e1698965285636.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DrowsKingston008-e1698965285636.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1257,"url":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?p=1257","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":5},"title":"Human Pyramids at All Saints Church in Kingston","author":"MattWPBS","date":"June 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Human Pyramids at All Saints Church in Kingston, with Luke Godwin. 15th May 2014. More photos after break, video to follow. [flickr_set id=\"72157645145619611\"]","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/?cat=693"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattwpbs.com\/wpinst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cropped-HPM-24.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattwpbs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}