An urban explorer was shocked to enter a crumbling movie theater to find the lights still working after being abandoned for decades.
The woman behind the Venturing Off Limits Facebook page visited her first rundown cinema when she entered The Cannon in Liverpool, which closed in 1998.
The building, designed by William R. Glen and Alfred Ernest for ABC Cinemas, was originally constructed in 1931.
It cost around £200,000 to build and could seat 1,835 film lovers in its three auditoriums.
It was originally called “The Forum” but was changed to “The Cannon” in 1986 before it closed its doors.
The building was used as a temporary exhibition space in 2016 but has since fallen into disrepair.
(Image: Venturing Off Limits / Facebook)
The seats are covered in dust thick enough for any city explorer who visits to write his name on it.
Debris has fallen from the ceiling as huge splotches of dark black mold grow on the bathroom floors
Describing their exploration, Venturing Off Limits wrote: “First cinema/theater I did and it was a brilliant exploration, loved it. We didn’t expect to find lights there.
(Image: Venturing Off Limits / Facebook)
“It’s a shame such a beautiful venue has fallen into disrepair, there’s a lot of water seeping into the building, especially around the stage area, and it probably won’t be long before it’s past repairs.
“However, it would be a significant amount of work to repair this building.”
Facebook fans flocked to the comments section to share their fascination with the page, hoping something can be done to save it.
(Image: Venturing Off Limits / Facebook)
One user wrote: “Hope they save the building with the saveable features, great pics – thanks!”
Another added: “Wow another set of excellent pics such a shame these beautiful buildings end up like this.
“We had a movie theater that I live in that was built in 1909 called the Empire. It was set on fire twice, forcing the council to demolish it in 2012. Thanks for sharing this.”
(Image: Venturing Off Limits / Facebook)
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A third quipped: “Love how there’s always a lone shoe in all these abandoned place pics. I’m just wondering what happened to the other one lol.”
A fourth commented: “Should be preserved. A part of cinema history.”
The building was reportedly acquired by developers in 2016 to become a £11million music venue – but work has not yet started on the property.
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