snippets from our local past...
The Regent Cinema in Westover Rd, Bournemouth (later known as the 'Gaumont' and finally the 'Odeon') was built onto the site of numbers 11 and 12 of the original Victorian 'Westover Villas', during 1928 and 1929.
An ambitious project - with a 2,200 seat cinema and a 300 seat restaurant - it was an impressive venue when it finally opened in May 1929.. The images below shown the construction as it progressed over the months....
Simply scroll down this page to see the individual images of the construction ...
PREPARING THE SITE - 16.04.28.
Taken from Hinton Rd - looking towards the Pavilion under construction on the left, and Westover Garage on the right
FOOTINGS AND FOUNDATIONS - 14.05.28
Taken looking towards the villas in Hinton Rd
THE BASIC STRUCTURES START TO TAKE SHAPE - 27.06.28
The peripheral walls and initial steel structure members start to emerge
MORE PROGRESS ON THE EXTERNAL WALLS - 20.07.28
Taken from Hinton Rd again, Pavilion in the background
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LOOKING TOWARDS HINTON RD - 20.07.28
Taken on the same day as the previous image, but looking in the other direction
INTERIOR LOOKING TOWARDS WESTOVER RD - 23.07.28
This image is taken just 3 days after the images above, and shows the exterior side walls built a little higher
MORE INTERNAL STRUCTURES - 19.08.28
Internal steel and brickwork structures reveal the beginnings of the screen surround
THE VIEW FROM HINTON RD - 2.10.28
By early October the brickwork at the rear of the building is well advanced.
STEEL ROOF FRAME SURROUND - 24.10.28
The project now includes some of the steel framework for the roof
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ROOF FRAME - SCREEN END - 24.10.28
A more advanced roof structure at the screen end of the building
STEEL WORKS NEARING COMPLETION - 24.11.28
By the end of November 1928 much of the main steel work is nearing completion,
as this view taken from Westover Rd shows
THE VIEW FROM HINTON RD - LOOKING WEST - 20.12.28
By the end of 1928 much of the external brickwork is well advanced
THE REGENT - May 1929
By the early summer of 1929 the Regent was complete, and this image shows it in its full glory,
soon after the opening on May 13th of that year.
A fine example of the confident expansion that Bournemouth enjoyed in those inter war years