Garrick Theatre, Southport

The Garrick Theatre stands on the corner of Lord Street and Kingsway in Southport, Merseyside. It was built in 1932 on the site of the Opera House, which had burned down three years earlier. The building is made of brick with Portland stone and concrete dressings, and its exterior features tall windows with Art Deco bands. Above the curved corner, fluted stone pilasters rise between the windows. A colonnade with an open promenade runs above the first floor on Lord Street, adding to the street’s character. The theatre’s auditorium once seated 1,600 people and hosted musicals, operas and ballet. It opened with the play *Firebird*, starring Gladys Cooper, and later showed films under Essoldo Cinemas. After becoming a bingo hall in 1963, it operated as Mecca Bingo until closing in 2020. Historic England listed the building at Grade II in 1999, recognising its Art Deco design. Plans now propose converting it into a hotel with residential rooms, a gym, bar and events space. Visitors to the site see the theatre’s curved corner and decorative stonework. The ground floor still holds shops, while the upper levels show the tall windows and pilasters. The colonnade on Lord Street frames the entrance and links the building to the street’s wider architecture. Though no longer a working theatre, the structure remains a local landmark. Its future use will shape how the area remembers its past.