Went for a walk down Lord st. this morning to take some pictures of the windows above the front of the Grand casino/bingo. They could do with a clean but are well worth a look. I have also worked in the roof and when I was had a good look at the workings of the organ.
As an aprentice electrician we used to change the lightbulbs in the chandelier. It brings a new meaning to the how many men does it take to change a lightbulb.
Can I post my pictures?

I would certainly love to see your pictures. I think the Grand always lived up to it's name, it always had a feel of spaciousness and luxury about it. Although it always seemed a bit out of the way and always seemed half empty.
One memory I have is going with my mother there to see South Pacific, sometime in the fifties. Even now when I see this film, I can picture myself in the Grand sat next to mother, a marvellous childhood memory.

I would also be interested in seeing pics of The Grand.
I was very fortunate to have played on the Compton theatre organ in the Grand when Frank Rimmer was the resident organist during it`s bingo hall days under John James ownership. I also used help with maintenance in the organ loft, of which it needed plenty, as it was in very poor condition. One repair we made was to use the opened out inner tube from a tractor tyre to link the motor, which provided the wind, to the pipe chamber. Most of it`s other problems were due to it`s age, water getting in through the roof, mice, and pigeon s***!

I would love to see the pictures. I took a few people on a historical walk of Lord Street last summer and was shown these windows. Walt Disney gave permission for them to be used.

If anyone is interested in doing a walk and finding out some of the streets history let me know - I would love to do another but when the weather improves

I have found the link on this site to upload the pictures so I will have a go this weekend.
Thank you organist. I did not know John James owned the Grand but now it makes sense. My boss (Reg Barstow) used to do all the work at the Kingsway as well and I knew John James owned that but not the Grand.
When we had all the power cuts in the 70's Mr James borrowed/hired a generator from Mr Silcock. Reg and me wired lights from the fairground rides all around the Kingsway. When the power went off the generator was started and the club could still function.
Happy days, Reg Barstow was a top man in my book. Taught me loads. Some about being an electrician some about life.

ogo, I well remember Reg Barstow. He and his wife were regulars at the Black Horse, Much Hoole, when Wilky and I played there in the late 70`s - early 80`s. I recall he drove a Mk 2 Jag. I also knew his daughter Caroline.

The origin of the Disney windows has puzzled me for a long time.
The beautiful windows depict Snow White, the seven dwarfs, the Evil Queen aswell as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Before it became a cinema, the Grand Cinema was a car showroom.
The car showroom opened in 1923.
George Tonge, a local architect, was then employed to redesign the building and make it into a cinema.
See this link : http://cinematreasures.org/theater/22654/
The Grand was opened on Monday 14th November 1938.
The film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, had been released in the UK, eight months earlier on 12th March 1938.
If the cinema had opened to co-incide with the premiere of Snow White, you could understand why the building had integrated the disney-themed windows into the frontage. But there is a gap in time that doesn't make sense.
The facts are out there somewhere. Probably buried deep in the Southport Visiter microfilm archives. I have read the Southport Visiter archives from 1939 to 1970. I have not come across a relevant story. I would love to know the full details.

Originally Posted by Organist

I would also be interested in seeing pics of The Grand.
I was very fortunate to have played on the Compton theatre organ in the Grand when Frank Rimmer was the resident organist during it`s bingo hall days under John James ownership. I also used help with maintenance in the organ loft, of which it needed plenty, as it was in very poor condition. One repair we made was to use the opened out inner tube from a tractor tyre to link the motor, which provided the wind, to the pipe chamber. Most of it`s other problems were due to it`s age, water getting in through the roof, mice, and pigeon s***!

I am led to believe that the feller who owns Huntapac now has that organ in his museum in Mere Brow

toffee man, Thank you, yes you are correct. I heard or read of it`s whereabouts a few years ago, but it had slipped my mind.
Does anyone have any info on whether it is played regularly,concerts, etc? I would like to try and see it on my next visit to Southport in August.

I have had look at the Southport Visiter and Southport Guardian newspapers to see if the Disney Windows are mentioned on the opening day.
Strangely they are omitted plus the first film to be screened was "Follow Your Star." Which either means the journalists who covered the story didn't think the stained glass windows were interesting or that they were added at a later date.
If they were added later, it must have been well after the Second World War.
I say this because Britain was left virtually bankrupt after the end of the conflict and food rationing didn't stop until the mid-1950s. Expensively-crafted windows would probably not have been high on the agenda.
If the Grand needed to replace windows during the war, they would probably not have been stained.
I think the next port of call is a letter to Disney. They may have a record of the windows.

Got round to this at last.
Sorry the only way to get the size for posting was to turn it.

Went passed today and I think the windows have gone. I was driving so not 100 percent sure.
When is the lighting display going to be reinstated at the Roundabout on Lord St west I wonder.

Originally Posted by ian1gail

Went passed today and I think the windows have gone. I was driving so not 100 percent sure.
When is the lighting display going to be reinstated at the Roundabout on Lord St west I wonder.

Yes they are gone I hope they are reinstated after the building has completed renovations. It would be a shame if they were "lost"