80th anniversary of Regal Cinema celebrated with reunion

80th anniversary of the Regal Cinema celebrated

A reunion took place at the Regal Moon on Wednesday 16 May, marking the 80^th anniversary since the opening of the Regal Cinema.

The Regal Cinema was officially opened by the Mayor of Rochdale on the afternoon of Monday 16 May 1938 with the Barbara Stanwyk film Stella Dallas.

The Regal had been designed for Associated British Cinemas (ABC) by architect Leslie C Norton with ABC’s ‘in-house’ architect William R Glen.

To commemorate the milestone, previous staff members were invited to attend the reunion at the pub, which occupies the ground floor of the former cinema.

With a total of 1,901 seats (1,208 stalls and 693 balcony), the Regal Cinema was re-named ABC around 1962. During the 1980s, it was renamed Cannon, before closing in October 1992.

It was then restored to its original appearance for The Ritz bingo hall until 1997, when the ground floor was transformed into the Regal Moon pub, a JD Wetherspoon chain which still operates today.