Trocadero Cinema Wilmslow Road Rusholme

The Tracadero Picture House, Wilmslow Road, Rusholme opened on 22 August 1912, with seating for 1,000. It is a building that warrants further investigation. According to contemporary reports it was built on the site of the Ice Skating Rink of 1876 at the junction of Wilmslow Road and Moor Street. However it may well be that the rink was adapted to form the auditorium of the cinema. The rink was set back some distance from Wilmslow Road, with a garden in front. An illustration on the front of a programme guide of 1915 shows the garden still existent with an entrance gate at the corner of Moor Street. Subsequent photographs taken subsequently show the garden area built over with lock-up shops, known in the 1920s as Tracadero Arcade , the gate having become the main entrance to the cinema. The David Hilton archive gives a date of 1913 for John Knight’s involvement.  Whether he was the original architect remains unclear.

A NEW PICTURE THEATRE – Another picture theatre was opened in Manchester yesterday. It is named the Trocadero, and stands in Rusholme. The picture show has established itself firmly as a popular amusement in all countries. It counts among its advantages a relatively small cost of production, and it need suffer no deterioration when transferred from the centre of the town to the suburb. Audiences are forthcoming everywhere. Perhaps some of their members renew their youth in reviving the delights of picture books without the hiatus between one page and the next. At the Tracadero last night there were some fine coloured films of sun-bathed coat, refreshing to the returned holiday maker. [Manchester Guardian 23 August 1912 page 8]

The cinema was destoyed by fire in 1973 0r 1975 and demolished

Reference    Manchester Guardian 23 August 1912- opening
Reference    David Hilton archive (date of 1913 for John Knight's involvement)
Reference    Gould Gazetteer