Description

George Arthur and Son, 1910-11, as Olympia Theatre; interior rebuilt by McNair and Elder 1938. Stripped Edwardian baroque. Tall corner block, curved at corner with wide low ?1930's entrance (tiles carried along both street elevations), giant order (Ionic) above and leaded dome. Red ashlar with channelled plaster strips, deep entablature, giant order on flank to Olympia Street with brick infill panels, Orr Street elevation also mainly brick. Concealed roof.

Statement of Interest

Opened in September 1911 as the Olympia Theatre of Varieties, with an interior by Frank Matcham (seating around 2000). It was sold to Scottish Cinema and Variety Theatres (SCVT - the pre-cursor to the ABC chain) in 1924. The interior was rebuilt to better suit cinema use in 1938 by prolific cinema architects McNair & Elder, at which point it seated 1689. Renamed the ABC in 1963, it continued as a cinema until March 1974. From 1978 it was used as a bingo hall, and later as a furniture warehouse. The Cinema Theatre Association note that the building is now empty and that in 2003 Glasgow City Council granted planning permission to demolish the cinema and build flats behind a partially retained façade, though to date no work has yet been done on this. A serious fire occurred in the building on November 30th 2004.

Listing including References and Notes updated as part of Cinemas Thematic Study 2007-08.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17815535

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)