The Odeon Cinema will be moving to new premises at the BH2 leisure complex next week after nearly 90 years on Westover Road, Bournemouth.

Bournemouth's first luxury cinema, then known as the Regent Theatre, was opened by the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres Ltd on May 13 1929 under the manager George Kasoni on the site previously occupied by Italian style mansions. The construction of the theatre was watched with great interest as the town was still relatively new.

Russell Harris,73, of Littledown, brought in a souvenir brochure in perfect condition of the opening of the Regent which he purchased at a book fair along with other cinema programmes.

"I was brought up in Boscombe and my father William Harris worked at Westover Garage, next to the Regent. I think he taught Reginald Foort, who played the Wurlitzer organ at the time at the Regent, to drive", said Russell.

The programme includes drawings of the outside of the Regent, the grand auditorium with its massive dome and the spacious cafe restaurant, plus advertisements connected to the theatre's construction.

Built in the style of Italian Renaissance with marble staircases, ceilings and walls richly decorated, plus a large stage and full theatrical facilities, including a large Wurlitzer theatre organ, it had accommodation for an audience of 2,300. It also had over 15,000 electric lamps, 60 miles of cable and 120,000 feet of steel tubing in the lighting system, making use of indirect lighting.

Also in the brochure are the details of the entertainment for the opening evening, including the showing of the film 'Two Lovers' starring Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky, Reginald Foort on the Wurlitzer organ, the Regent Orchestra directed by the well known solo violinist T.S. Clarke-Browne, plus the variety acts of the Regent Girls troupe, the 'simultaneous dancers' Graham and Douglas and the soprano Nan Foster on the stage.

The Regent was renamed the Gaumont in 1949 and then became the Odeon in 1986.