Bradford Alhambra

Bradford Alhambra is a theatre in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, named after the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, which was the place of residence of the Emir of the Emirate of Granada. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for theatre impresario Francis Laidler, and opened on Wednesday 18 March 1914. In 1964, Bradford City Council bought the Alhambra for £78,900 and in 1974, it was designated a Grade II listed building. It underwent extensively refurbishment in 1986. Today it is a receiving house for large-scale touring theatre of all types and the main house seats 1,456.HistoryFrancis Laidler, who already owned two music halls in Bradford, opened the new Alhambra Theatre in 1914. The architects were Chadwick and Watson, who described it as "English renaissance of the Georgian period".BuildingThe building is recognisable for its large domed turret with giant-paired Corinthian columns, an iconic landmark on the Bradford skyline together with the complementary domes on the adjacent, disused Bradford Odeon. Behind this, the building is stepped up, culminating in tall square towers with smaller domes.