Ritz Cinema, Thirsk
The Ritz Cinema on Westgate, Sowerby, North Yorkshire, England is a small 200 seat cinema run by volunteers. The building was originally the Mechanics' Institute for Thirsk and Sowerby, but was converted into a cinema in 1912 and is probably one of Britain's oldest operating cinemas. Originally the cinema was known as Powers after Walter Power, the man who ran the picture house in its first incarnation with silent movies. In 1927, when the talkies arrived, he extended the seating in the cinema by adding the balcony.
In 1995, a group of volunteers got together to run the cinema as a social project for Thirsk and Sowerby. It shows in a period setting most of the current films and is run for residents and visitors to Thirsk and the local villages by a team of volunteers. In March 2012, the Ritz installed Digital projection equipment, purchased under a Digital Print Scheme through the Cinema Exhibitors' Association.
