MANY towns once had several cinemas but residents now have to travel outwith the area to watch the latest films.
Greenock is fortunate in having the Waterfront Cinema which opened in 1996.
Inverclyde now has only one example of a much older building purpose-built as a cinema and dating to a time when going out to watch a film was a popular pastime.
It is the former Plaza in Port Glasgow. Building work commenced in 1939 but the Second World War delayed its completion, and the cinema did not open until 1952.
The Plaza closed in the early 1970s and became a bingo hall.
Now derelict for some years, the accompanying image of the Plaza shows posters advertising films released in 1958.
Also pictured is Port Glasgow’s former Palace Cinema after it had closed and the building – now long gone - was taken over by the Port Glasgow Motor Company.
The location is across from the foot of King Street
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