36 Gibson Street, The Picturedrome (The Lop)

The building dated to 1878 and was built as a large three-storey house with a draper's shop on the ground floor. It opened as a cinema on 30 July 1910 with 500 seats and a raked floor. The builders were Messrs. Millar and Besford of Whitley Bay. The architects were Messrs. Hope and Tasker of Newcastle. Mr. J. Thorne did the decorations. The Picturedrome was owned by the Millar family. By 1930 seating was reduced to 280. A BTH sound system was installed in 1931. The cinema's licence was withdrawn in 1942 when police found that a 15 year old boy was working the machines. In 1944 architect Edwin M. Lawson drew up plans to reseat the cinema. In 1949 there were 184 seats in the stalls and 79 in the gallery. The cinema closed on 20 August 1960 and it was demolished.