Opened 16 September 1912 the &lsquo;Lime Street Picture House&rsquo; was a very upmarket city centre cinema, with a Georgian styled facade &amp; a French Renaissance interior. The grand entrance foyer had a black &amp; white square tiled floor and the walls were of Sicilian marble. It housed a luxurious cafe on the 1st floor and the auditorium was designed to have the effect of a live theatre with an abundance of architectural features, embellished by plaster mouldings. It provided seating for 1029 patrons. The cinema also boasted a full orchestra to accompany the silent films.<br /> <br /> On 14 August 1916, it was renamed  &lsquo;City Picture House&rsquo; due to another cinema opening in Clayton Square called &lsquo;Liverpool Picture House&rsquo;. In October 1920 a new company was formed &lsquo;Futurist (Liverpool) LTD&rsquo; to purchase the cinema and the two shops for &pound;167,000.<br /> <br /> The era of silent films ended in 1929 at the Futurist and new &lsquo;Western Electric Talking Equipment&rsquo; was installed. By the 1930s cinemas were popping up everywhere which affected The Futurist&rsquo;s business and resulted in the cinema showing second runs of leading films.
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