ONLY the older generation will now remember when Keighley had another iconic building in the shape of the Hippodrome theatre, occupying the site of the present multi-storey car park beside the bus station.

It is seen here on a grey, wet day between the wars.

Designed by the great theatrical architect, Frank Matcham, and opened in 1900 to replace a previous Queen’s Theatre, this was unimaginatively called the New Queen’s Theatre.

Despite being renamed the Hippodrome in 1909, the old name stuck – both are visible in this view.

Many famous artistes appeared here, especially during the Second World War, but audiences were dwindling by the 1950s. The theatre closed in 1956 and was demolished in 1961.