Tyne Theatre & Opera House, 117 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Tyne Theatre & Opera House, 117 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne by Geoff Holland as part of the Geograph project.
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Tyne Theatre & Opera House, 117 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image: © Geoff Holland Taken: 27 May 2025
Opened on the 23rd September 1867, this grand building was designed by prolific northern architect W. B. Parnell who also designed St. Nicholas Buildings and Phoenix House. It was funded by the Cowen family, who owned two brickworks in Blaydon, the upper and the lower. Changing tastes and technological advancements eventually resulted in a subtle change of use when Sir Oswald Stoll, a national theatre mogul, opened it as a cinema on 2nd June 1919. It became the first cinema in the city to show films with sound. In 1974 the building was converted back into a theatre by a group of volunteers and the Tyne Theatre Trust was formed. The theatre has an Italianate front of three storeys and five bays built in pale brick with stone dressings. It is a Grade I Listed building.
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Image Location
Latitude
54.970388
Longitude
-1.620854