ABC Cinema (Former)
Date 19 February 1999
Event ID 902048
Category Management
Type Site Management
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/902048
3-storey, symmetrical 7-bay, Edwardian Baroque former theatre. Polished, red Ballochmyle sandstone ashlar; red brick sides and rear, harled in places; later red brick to rear elevation.
Originally, this building was the King's Theatre, built during the reign of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Alexander Cullen of Brandon Street Chambers, Hamilton, designed the theatre. Later internal alterations were carried out, the most notable being a balcony construction designed by the Airdrie architect, Charles McNair. The theatre contained bars, exclusive boxes and lounges. It could hold around 2000 patrons for a show. The original owners staged many different forms of entertainment from opera, variety shows, to musical extravaganzas. There were also experimental trials showing "moving pictures", but the management was not sure if they would prove popular in the long run. The original proprietors went out of business after only 4 years.
After changing hands many times, the theatre became a cinema in 1937. The interior was destroyed by fire in 1975 and the cinema closed in 1999. Although altered, the building retains its fine Edwardian Baroque frontage to Titchfield Street. (Historic Scotland)
