Inside abandoned Mecca bingo hall with rows of tables still ready to be played
Rows of tables remain completely deserted and still ready to be loaded up inside a once-busy abandoned Mecca Bingo Hall in new images shared by an urban explorer
Eerie images show the remains of an abandoned Mecca Bingo hall that was once teeming with eager punters. Though the building in Halifax, West Yorkshire still looks imposing and grand from the outside, inside images show rows of bingo tables completely deserted and waiting to be loaded up. Photographs also show seating in the wide auditorium of the building, where people would have watched the goings on below. Once an Odeon cinema, it was designed by the architect George Coles and opened in 1938, before closing in October 1975 and being damaged by a fire.
It was then converted for use as the Top Rank Bingo Hall in 1977, later becoming a Mecca Bingo. But its eventual closure last year was branded 'truly awful' by upset staff and customers, and cost 20 jobs.
The images of the bingo hall as it looks today were captured by urban explorer Daniel Sims, 34, who is known as Bearded Reality on Youtube and Instagram.
Revealing what he found, he said: "Over the past few years, quite a lot of the Mecca bingos have been closing down, however this one only shut down at the end of last year so a local tipped me off that it might be 'open'.
"The front was quite well sealed however around the back was a different story with the metal sheeting having been cut from previous copper raiders.
"The atmosphere was very chilled and relaxed as we went around the property and we were undisturbed so took our time with the place checking everything out.
"Outside there appeared to be no damage to the building and was very well protected, however it is a recent closure so I expect that to change with time. "Inside was crazy seeing everything left - slightly saddened that copper thieves had already gained access and caused some damage to areas, but thankfully it is very little damage."
"It is always interesting to see the areas behind the scenes of places like these to see what the people who were managing the place got up to."Because the site was so huge we were here for a good two-hours exploring all the nooks and areas you don't usually see filming and taking photos.
He described the place as "very peaceful", with the stillness of the venue only briefly interrupted when Daniel thought they heard someone else inside the building.
"Just seeing all the bingo tables laying empty was the most interesting aspect for me but then going around the place seeing what had been left and the messages left by the team that used to run the place made the whole thing a bit sad", he commented.
Speaking about his urban exploring, he reflected that there will "always be people that don't understand what I do" or the legality of it, but he simply saw his role as "documenting history at a current moment in time."
He said that local people are "usually happy" to see how certain buildings are being left, as the pictures allow people to share their memories and intimate moments from once-lively places.
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