The Picture House in it's glory days - click to enlarge
And thanks to Ash Krauser for this video view of what remains behind the present ugly facade and the Essoldo Cinema image below.
..and later as the Essoldo Cinema.
There is no longer any building behind the entrance frontage. However, the hemisphere structure is still present and looks good enough from the video to be well worth returning to view as part of the visible heritage of Dewsbury.
What we think:
If we can see it then it should be worth looking at!
The question seems to be whether this little heritage jewel could be restored and incorporated into any refurbishment of the adjacent property and whether it is structurally or economically viable.
Update 18 May 2020
Historic England have confirmed that the remaining part of the old facade would not be listable as part of the upper facade is already missing, the original entrance openings have been altered and its only a fragment of the original.
Prospects of it being restored are small, especially as the left wing of 16-18 Market Place. was demolished to make way for it initially. The original building is believed to be the oldest residential building in Dewsbury and there is possibly a stronger historical argument for restoring the original building than for the cinema facade.
However, now we have a professional assessment from Historic England which will make future decision making easier.
