The Ritz
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Ritz by Gerald England as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The Ritz
Image: © Gerald England Taken: 14 Aug 2013
Built in 1928 on Whitworth Street West by the architects Cruickshank and Seaward, the Ritz is a dance hall with an apparently very springy dance floor and a revolving stage. The outside is clad in white faïence sporting trophies with musical instruments. With the decline of classic dancing and the emergence of pop and rock 'n' roll music The Ritz was transformed into a live music venue even hosting The Beatles in the 1960s. It still kept its style however, and with that allowed for artists such as Frank Sinatra to play shows there. The Ritz also hosted the "Dancing In The Dark" night with Phillip Moss throughout the 1950s and 60s, who was the band master for 17 years and known as "The King of The Ritz". The Ritz went through a £2 million refurbishment in 2011. While many of the old nooks and crannies were fixed up it still stayed true to its image as an old dance hall, even keeping the old curved, bouncy floor.
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Image Location
Latitude
53.474162
Longitude
-2.243277