SEEN from a rather spartan 1950s bus station, this was Keighley's Hippodrome or New Queen's Theatre, doomed to demolition in 1961.
Designed by a famous theatrical architect, Frank Matcham, and opened in 1900 on the site of a five-storey predecessor, the New Queen's Theatre was renamed the Hippodrome in 1909 but continued to be known by both names.
It attracted some famous acts to the town, especially during the Second World War, when during a single week in 1942 the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company gave Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto, Faust, Die Fledermaus, La Boheme, Il Trovatore and The Barber of Seville.
A victim of changing post-war habits, the theatre closed down in 1956, its last performance being the Keighley Operatic and Dramatic Society in Oklahoma! Earlier that year, Syncopating Sandy Strickland had broken the world record for non-stop piano playing there – he played for 133 hours, during which time he smoked 600 cigarettes!
The photograph has been supplied by Mr Bill Palmer, of Shann Avenue, Keighley.
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