Buried mosaic welcome to old Portsmouth cinema is unearthed
It was no more than an aside, but yesterday I mentioned the mosaic that once graced the entrance to the Fratton Electric Theatre.
I was not really expecting a response from readers, but I should have known better.
The ink had hardly dried on the paper when Robert James, of Milton, Portsmouth, e-mailed me this picture of the mosaic.
The 250-seat former cinema, pictured below, in Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton, opened in 1910 and closed eight years later.
Later is became the Royal British Legion Club, but when it was demolished the mosaic was covered over.
Robert says: ‘After demolition the mosaic remained for several weeks exposed to the elements and I managed to take this picture before it was covered.’
Yesterday I said the building came down in 1972 for road-widening. However, James has recorded 1984 on the back of his picture.