Wigan Album

Just like it was in the early 50's. My sister & I queued up outside those doors many a time. There was a café upstairs at the front.

iqued here in the 60s to watch the beatles & rolling stones never forget the rizts great picture place brings back plenty mems them where the days wish thay were back did a lot of courting in there

I have many memories of this cinema. I can remember which part of the stalls I was sitting in, but not who I was with, or what we had gone to see, when the News Reel showed the first entry into Belsen by the British forces - a harrowing sight, especially for a 9 year old.

It doesnt look the same without the Woolies sign to the left where the Smiths sign is, I waited in the doorway near the sign for my wife to be nearly every night in the early 60s finally marrying her in 1966 after courting for 5 years, forgot to say she worked in Woolies, and although we went to the cinema a lot , we never went to the Ritz

As you remember Maggie. I was in the Ritz with my mother and dad, when it flashed on the screen that the Italians' had surrendered. There was just one almighty cheer. I have mentioned this before, as a previous comment.

My abiding memories of the Ritz has to be the 1940‘s Saturday morning Minors’ film show - I’ve never heard a noise like it since - there must have been hundreds of young children screaming and shouting their heads off - it was scary but exciting all at the same time. A number of years later going along with invited schools to watch the film about the conquering of Everest - that was 1953.

George "We are the boys and girls well known as the Minors of the ABC"

Yes I was there as a child and also as a teenager..happy days.
I remember it having beautiful carpeting.

Never that keen on the place. I much preferred the Queens in Pem. :)

I first met my husband in the Ritz cinema in 1955.He was sat behind me and my cousin along with his mates. We will have been married for 55years in June this year and yet he once told me that it was my cousin he fancied at first, not me, so obviously it wasn't love at first sight for us.( I admit that I rather fancied one of his mates at first, but that's my secret

Our lovely Wigan town has been taken away from us. This is how we remember it.

So sad!

Wonderful memories of the Ritz....so sad it went...:-(

My boyfriend peter,now my husband of forty years, took me here on our first date to see bonnie and Clyde. He bought a box of mint creams from the kiosk and we sat on the back row. He never took his eyes off the screen, ate all the mint creams and made me leave before the end as they all got shot!

This street used used to be hectic and alive- full of buses.
Has it been closed off or something? We'd come from the baths and into Woolies for hot dog (Woolies style) or a hamburger which was sausage meat. Superb!!! Them were the days. Man, look at it now. Progress eh!!

cr, Station Road no longer exists. It is now the entrance to The Grand Arcade.

Cheers Alan. Blimey!!! I've been gone too long. Never thought I would get lost in the place I was born and bred.
How times change..

I remember, as a passenger, my father easily parking outside Woolies on a number of early Saturday mornings at the beginning of the 1950's before taking a casual stroll through the store - no yellow lines and not much traffic in those far away days.

Alan H. Just seen a picture on Photo of the day on Wiganworld (Aug 2013) so know what you mean. Looks like the building has been dropped in from above. The Ritz ghosts will haunt the place forever...

That is where I had my first date with a smashing girl who eventually did me the honour of marrying me the film was an 007 bond with that rubbish actor ** lazenby or someone he was bad, but i'll never forget the ritz and the date great !!!!

aww the ritz lovely memories ov this place ,i saw many films hxxere the sound of music , the exorsist ,the ten comandments,and many many more , but best ov all to me was seeing the beatles live whaw x

Josie I think it was ABC later in the 70s.