Leisure
Over the years the Institute was home to the Pictureland Cinema, a dance academy and billiard hall. "Eli's Drunken Brass Band" regularly practised at the Institute, and it was the venue for many social events, from weddings to yo-yo competitions.
Business
The staff working in the front offices were kept very busy, dealing with trade union matters and acting as agents for the National Insurance Scheme, which had been introduced in 1911. The Workers' Educational Association regularly held lectures in the auditorium, and many and varied organisations, from operatic society to poultry club, rented rooms at the Institute.