Broadway Cinema (Former)
Date 14 July 2004
Event ID 904202
Category Management
Type Site Management
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/904202
Former cinema which makes a positive contribution to the streetscape of the main thoroughfare in Prestwick. It is built to a bold Art Deco design with a strong horizontal emphasis balanced by the height of the central recessed block. The 1st floor of the building is stepped up and back from the street line so that it could be flood-lit.
The design is similar to the Playhouse cinema in Perth that was built a year earlier by the architect A Cattanach and also has curved side wings, a tall recessed central block, and shops flanking the entrance. The shop fronts at the Broadway are a particularly good survival, especially No 78 which appears to be complete; the other shops (numbers 76,82 and 84) all retain some original (or near-contemporary) glazing. The entrance doors to the cinema also retain their original Art Deco glazing.
The rather stark appearance of the cinema at present (2004) belies its original glamorous design. The base course and window band are built of red brick that would not have originally been painted, and the central block originally had three further windows above the existing three.
A contemporary report, quoted by Rob Close in his letter to 'Picture House' describes the cinema as: 'Built partly of synthetic stone of local construction and bright bricks, [it] presents a mild red and white appearance which is eye-taking without being blatant'. The cinema opened in 1935 and was built for the Prestwick Cinema Company Ltd. It became a bingo hall in 1966.
The architect, Alister Gladstone MacDonald, specialised in cinema design, and had offices in both London and Edinburgh. He built a number of cinemas in Scotland, but his most innovative designs were for the 'Newsreel Cinemas' at Waterloo and Victoria stations in London. He was the eldest son of the first Labour Prime Minister, James Ramsay MacDonald. (Historic Scotland)
