TO MANY locals these venues are more than simply bricks and mortar.

Each of these old cinemas housed a seemingly bottomless trove of happy memories where emotions were encouraged to run amok - from sorrow to joy, awe to contempt.

Often referred to as dream places, the old structures lived up to their name as they made fantasy and fiction a visual reality before the audience’s eyes.

From Gone With the Wind to Jurassic Park, The Sound of Music to Rambo - we’ve spent millions of hours watching myriad movies across a plethora of genres - the good, the bad and the ugly!

Continental - 303 Wimborne Road, Winton, Bournemouth

Opened as the Winton Hall in 1908 and began screening films in 1911.

The cinema went by many names including Winton Electric Picture House, New and Popular Palace, Winton’s Superior Cinema and Plaza Cinema before being called Continental Cinema on April 6, 1953.

Their doors closed for the last time on June 8, 1989 before the building was demolished.

UCI - Tower Park, Poole

Tower Park’s cinema opened as a 10-screen UCI multiplex in 1989.

It was acquired by Empire in 2004, and remained so until August 12, 2016 when it became a Cineworld.

The movie house still exists but now boasts 16 screens.

ABC - 27 Westover Road, Bournemouth

Opened on June 19, 1937, this cinema was also called Cannon and MGM before returning to its original name in 1996.

ABC closed in January 4, 2017 after a special screening of Back to the Future.

The Odeon - 37-43 Westover Road, Bournemouth

Originally called the Regent when opened on May 13, 1929, the cinema was later known as the Gaumont and then the Odeon.

The Odeon closed on February 9, 2017 after a screening of La La Land. The former dream palace remains boarded up.

Winter Gardens - Exeter Road, Bournemouth

The Winter Gardens was not primarily a cinema but an exhibition hall.

The building was demolished in 2006.

Theatre Royal - Albert Road, Bournemouth

Opened in 1882, the theatre was converted into a town hall before reopening as a theatre in 1892.

The cinema became the Curzon in July 1962 which closed in 1982.

Roxy Cinema - 311 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth

The Coronation Picture Palace opened in 1911 and was renamed Roxy Cinema in 1938.

The picture house was converted into a bingo hall in 1963 and is now occupied by Pro Studio Hire.