A CINEMA in the heart of Worcester has marked a milestone anniversary.

The Odeon in Foregate Street has celebrated its 70th year of providing the city's film fans with new movies.

The site of the Odeon - which is the city’s oldest still operating cinema - was home to the Public Library and Hastings Museum building, originally built in 1835.

By the 1860s the museum was remodelled as the Victoria Institute, with the Silver Cinema opening in the converted building in 1915.

James Taundry, who has been working as a cinema host since 2006, said: “Odeon Worcester has definitely changed during its 70-year history as the city’s oldest still operating cinema. I count myself lucky to have been a part of that history for more than a decade.

“Really my passion for movies began much earlier as an excited child who would frequent Odeon Worcester every odd weekend with my sister.”

The original building was bought by Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd and demolished in 1939 to make way for a new modern cinema.

However, the beginning of the Second World War later that year led to the unfinished building being seized by the government for use as a storage facility.

The building was handed back in 1948, and it then took a further two years for it to be completed.

The grand opening of Odeon Worcester took place on January 2 in 1950, which saw visits from many stars of the time and featured live music played on a specially fitted organ by Stanley Tudor.

The first film showcased was The Rocking Horse Winner starring Valerie Hobson.

Mr Taundry, aged 36, added: “There was something so magical about it all back then, well before the internet and streaming services.

“I can remember the sheer joy that came from experiencing so many classics of my generation on the 'big screen', and then talking about them all at school with my friends on Monday.

“It’s this spark that first drew me to Odeon as an employee- alongside the need for a part time job.

“I wanted to help create that same magic for others, and truly be a part of something that I loved so much.

“Of course, working at the same place for 13 plus years can be taxing, and I’ve seen a lot of changes even in my relatively short time there, however I can’t deny that this is still my happy place, for the most part.

“I’m sure a time will come when I’ll need to 'be a grown up' and 'put my toys away', but for now working in a cinema is still pretty awesome, and for a movie fan like me it’s still the perfect place to be.”

In keeping with the rise in film releases, Odeon converted into a triple screen cinema in 1974, a five screen cinema in 1990, and again converted in 1997 into the seven screen cinema Worcester residents know today.

For more nostalgic looks at Worcester's past, see worcesternews.co.uk

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