ON many a Saturday afternoon in the Seventies, this imposing-looking building would be the centre of the sporting universe - at least if you were a wrestling fan.

For this was the Wryton Wrestling Stadium on Higher Bridge Street, Bolton, from which many a televised bout was broadcast featuring some of the leading names in wrestling including local legends Vic Faulkner and Bert Royal, Jackie Pallo and Adrian Street.

Originally designed as a garage, the building became a cinema in 1921 when a post war slump hit the car trade and the good folk of Bolton got caught up in the movie craze. It also had a dance hall attached making it a complete entertainment centre.

The first film to be shown at The Palladium was The Old Nest, screened on Boxing Day, 1921. By 1930, the Palladium had become an ABC cinema but by 1935 it had once again become an independent cinema.

The Palladium Picture House was closed in 1958 which was when the wrestling took over and then, in 1978, it was converted into the first indoor skateboard centre in the UK. This lasted for four years before the building was finally demolished.