| Description | The Empire Cinema, Wakefield Road, was built in the late 19th century as a theatre but has since been converted to domestic use. It was built of stone but has red brick additions where the central facade was bricked up for more recent use. The Wakefield Road elevation is of four bays and 2 storeys, although the 1st 3 would have formed the main entrance to the cinema. The ground floor had 2 windows (now filled) with a doorway to the right, all flanked by rusticated plinthed pilasters with a simple ionic entablature above. Above the cornice are 3 central 8 pane windows with faux shutters and windows boxes. Below the roof line, the eaves have dental mouldings and a slate roof crowns the building. To the right, in the 4th bay, is a later addition built in the same style as the rest of the cinema. The ground floor contains a doorway to the left, while to the right the elevation is bricked. Above is an entablature with a plain frieze, similar to that in the rest of the building, though placed approximately 0.3m lower in the elevation. Above is a window similar to those in bays 1, 2 and 3, with the eaves set lower. The roof is hipped with the ridge falling above the window. The cinema is included in the Local Buildings List (2008) for Wakefield.
In 2009 an application was submitted to convert what is currently a 4 bedroom flat into 12 flats with partial demolition and extension of the present building. The application was refused on grounds of access 24/9/2009. |