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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Charlotte Hadfield

Eerie pictures of abandoned bingo hall with cigarette packets and playing cards still on table

An abandoned bingo hall where playing cards and cigarette packets still sit on the tables was captured on camera, seemingly frozen in time.

The iconic building on the corner of Park Road and Dingle Lane, i s best remembered as the Gaumont Cinema which first opened its doors in 1937.

After operating as a cinema for nearly three decades, the building was later turned into a Top Rank Bingo Club in January 1967.

The bingo hall remained in operation until 1998 but the building now sadly lies empty.

Despite being bought and resold by potential investors looking to transform the site, it's currently unused and the building has fallen into a state of disrepair.

Photos taken by two urban explorers offer a glimpse at what the art deco building now looks like.

Bingo balls, playing cards and cigratte packets at the Gaumont Cinema which became a Top Rank Bingo Club in the 60s (John Anderson)
An old set list in the Gaumont Cinema on the corner of Dingle Lane and Park Road (Shaun - 28dayslater.co.uk)

Old bingo balls, posters and playing cards still remain in the building and act as a reminder of its former use.

In one photo a old set list can be seen plastered on the wall, while in another there are pages from an old newspaper celebrating the club's first birthday.

Photos show old newspapers celebrating the bingo hall's first birthday (Shaun - 28dayslater.co.uk)

Discover the past, colourise old black and white photos and enjoy being transported back in time with Memory Lane, a free new archive for your local area.

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The walls of the main auditorium have been covered in graffiti, with ripped out cinema seats now replaced with piles of rubble on the floor.

The landmark building once held a 1,500-seat cinema and was built to replace the old Dingle Picturedome.

The Gaumont Cinema later changed hands to a bingo hall (John Anderson)
Seats in the old Gaumont Cinema in Dingle (Shaun - 28dayslater.co.uk)

The cinema's renowed Wurlitzer organ remained in the building until the mid 1980s, where it was put to use entertaining members between games of bingo.

It has since been moved to the Theatre Organ Heritage Centre in Manchester.

The building, which is not listed, is spread over four floors, with a basement area and plant rooms upstairs.

In 2017 it was put up for sale with Venmores Auctions, who later confirmed that it was sold to an unknown bidder.

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