It was designed by Glasgow-based architect John Fairweather and opened on March 7 1938 and was soon taken over by the Associated British Cinemas(ABC) chain.
In March 1962 it was re-named ABC and hosted many one night concerts on its stage, including The Beatles. On May 28 1977 it was closed for conversion into a triple-screen cinema in the former circle area with 485-seats in ABC 1, 321-seats in ABC 2 and 106-seats in ABC 3. The stalls were converted into a Gala Bingo Club and they all opened in October 1977.
The ABC was closed on March 5 1983 when it was operated by Thorn-EMI. The cinema was then re-opened by an independent operator on January 4 1984, operating as the Ritz Film Centre. It was closed on April 19 1997 and while for a short period later it ran as a specialist Asian cinema, it was demolished in 2005 to make way for the Grand Arcade shopping centre.
Ritz ABC Cinema, Station Road, Wigan
1. 1975
Retro 1975 - Wigan Cinema ABC club members with their pets on Saturday morning ready for the judging Photo: SUBMITTED
2. 1974
RETRO 1974 Members of Wigan ABC Cinema Minors Club gather around a visiting Womble Photo: staff
3. RETRO 1985
RETRO 1985 - A peep behind the screens at Ritz Cinema Station Road Wigan Photo: GB
4. 1976
A pop duo sign autographs for young fans at the ABC cinema, Wigan, in 1976. Photo: STAFF