This website was set up around 12 years ago to keep the long forgotten Longford Essoldo Cinema in the public eye. I work in arts management and it bugs me seeing buildings of significance like this go to waste. The website has served as an archive for images, history, memories and to document news items as they’ve happened.
Whilst I’ve had emails weekly asking about the building or mistaking me for an agent of the owner somehow, often I’ve just been posting maybe once or twice a year, usually to keep the site from not looking abandoned but essentially to say ‘no news’. Now I can’t keep up! This article from the Manchester Evening News sums up some of the latest information.
Longford and Essoldo Cinema Stretford 
Hello,
Can you tell me what happened to the frontage that appeared in the Essoldo days?
It appeared to have a small forecourt.
Thankyou
It got squished basically into road! The road was originally 2 lanes but got widened to what you see today plus the underpasses. This was all part of the story of the decline of the building as the road widening annexed that half of Stretford.
I have just read an obituary in the Guardian about Pauline Baines who was married to the artist Harry Baines (she died recently at the age of 103!). It refers to a commission for murals that Harry Baines carried out early in his career. It was for murals in the foyer of the Longford Cinema in Stretford. As a local resident I am curious to see them but I cannot find any images online or on this website. I note that the Heritage Report on the cinema building refers to the murals and says that they may still be there, under cover, in the foyer. I wonder if you have any photographs taken while they were still visible? If so, could you publish them on your website?
Hi Jane,
I do have photos from an industry catalogue when the cinema opened featuring the murals but don’t want to put them online as I don’t want to show the location of where they at least were. I’ve read the article with interest though and will try and write something up on the site when I have a second.