An architectural marvel? Surely not...

Following neatly on from the sad story of The Point, I have recently discovered that not only is the Milton Keynes shopping centre a listed building but the same honour has more recently been bestowed upon another site of even more dubious merit, which has left me quite frankly flabbergasted. Who would believe the city centre's old bus station has Grade II Listed status?

What's The Point?

A requiem for Britain's first multiplex cinema

 

An iconic local landmark that played an important role in my childhood has just closed after less than 30 years and is scheduled for demolition, so as yet another part of our heritage bites the dust I take a fond look back at The Point, the UK's first multiplex cinema. I'm sure I am not alone in having so many fond memories of that place: countless cinema trips, often to see the latest Roald Dahl or Disney animation, were part of the routine when I was young, sometimes with a group of friends as a birthday treat, sometimes just as a family outing, and the sight of that big red neon pyramid glowing against the night sky always filled me with excitement. Although I haven't set foot inside for years I can still vividly recall it: the wide staircase leading down from the entrance to the foyer with its central box office, the smell of popcorn, the illuminated signs above the auditorium doors spelling out the names of what seemed like exotic films I was far too young to watch, and the red tip-up seats.

The Point opened a couple of months after I was born so it has always been there on my many trips to Milton Keynes, a reassuring presence in this ever-changing city and one of the last links with a childhood long gone. It is such an unmistakable icon and one of the first things to be seen when getting off a bus in the city centre that it has become a familiar and accepted part of the landscape and things just won't be the same without it, although it has been very sad to watch its decline in recent years.