Quick Search
|
Search Results
You searched for: More Like: 'Map showing location of first Joint Station'
26 items
items as
Statue of Queen Victoria
73 A photograph showing the statue of Queen Victoria at the junction of Union Street and St. Nicholas Street. The building in the background is the Clydesdale Bank that stands next to M&S today. This fine Italian renaissance style building was originally constructed for the Town and County Bank and opened for business in May 1863.
The statue of Queen Victoria was made from marble and was sculpted by Banff born Alexander Brodie (c.1829 - 1867). The origin of this statue is closely related to another Aberdeen monument, the 1863 memorial statue of Prince Albert by Baron Marochetti, now standing, or rather sitting, in the area in front of the Central Library.
Marochetti's statue was augurated by Queen Victoria herself on 13th October 1863 and this was said to the first time the Queen had appeared at a public demonstration following the death of Albert in 1861. The Marochetti statue was the subject of great local controversy and there were various plans for an alternative, superior, memorial to the late Prince Consort. It was at a related meeting that a chap called Alexander Donald, from the Royal Tradesman of Aberdeen, moved "That a colossal statue in marble, of Her Majesty, be erected at the corner of St. Nicholas Street."
The endeavour was taken on by a variety of prominent citizens and funding was raised by public subscription. Brodie, the selected sculptor, worked on an 11-ton block of Sicilian marble for two years to complete the statue. The finished piece is 8 foot 6 inches in height and, at the request of Queen herself, depicts Victoria in Scottish regal attire. The statue stands on a substantial plinth of pink Peterhead granite.
The statue was unveiled and inaugurated on 20th September 1866 by Albert-Edward Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII and the subject of another of Aberdeen's notable statues. During his speech at the ceremony, the Prince said "Gentlemen, it has afforded me the greatest satisfaction to attend here today, by the wish of Her Majesty, and at your invitation, for the purpose of inaugurating a statue of the Queen, my dear mother. Her Majesty has desired me to express to you how much she appreciates the motives which have led the people of Aberdeenshire to give this lasting evidence of their attachment and loyalty to her person, of which she has so many proofs, and whose sympathy in her great sorrow has touched her so deeply."
During his visit, the Prince of Wales also received the Freedom of the City and attended the Royal Horticultural Society's Autumn Show, which was then going on in the Music Hall. An extensive account of the unveiling, the Royal visit and the town's celebrations is given in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1866.
After some time at this location, the statue's marble began to show weathering due to the frost and so it was moved to the vestibule of the Town House in 1888, where it remains to this day. It stands at the foot of the building's splendid main stairway. The plaster model of Brodie's statue has also been on display in the Music Hall for many years.
A new bronze statue of an older Victoria, by sculptor Charles Bell Birch, was erected at the St. Nicholas Street location on 9th November 1893 and "the Queen" became a regular meeting place for generations of Aberdonians. To make way for the extension of Marks & Spencer, the 1893 statue moved to its current site at Queen's Cross on 22nd January 1964. Victoria now stands looking east towards Balmoral. Royal visit by Princess Beatrice
315 A photograph showing Princess Beatrice at Aberdeen Music Hall to open a bazaar in aid of the Sick Children's Hospital.
The bazaar took place in the Music Hall on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th October 1898. Princess Beatrice, then known as Princess Henry of Battenberg, opened the bazaar the day before on Friday 28th October.
The opening ceremony was covered in the Aberdeen Journal of 29th October 1898, page 5. The article states that Beatrice arrived by train at the Joint Station before travelling to the Music Hall from Guild Street by the horse drawn carriage that we can see here.
The route travelled and much of the surrounding area were specially decorated for the occasion. The various businesses and buildings along the route decorated their own premises and many of these decorations are described in the newspaper report.
The city gardeners Peter Harper of Duthie Park and Robert Walker of Victoria Park were tasked with creating floral displays. Harper decorated the interior of the Joint Station and the Music Hall, while Walker decorated the route between the two.
The special royal train arrived at the joint station a couple of minutes before its scheduled time of 12:15pm. Beatrice was greeted at the station by a large civic and military reception and crowds of onlookers.
The newspaper report indicates that travelling in the horse drawn carriage with Beatrice was Miss Minnie Cochrane and Lord William Cecil, both were royal courtiers. The man sat in the carriage is therefore most likely the latter.
Following the opening ceremony, Beatrice was entertained at a luncheon at the Palace Hotel by the directors of the Royal Aberdeen Hospital for Sick Children.
Beatrice and her party returned to Balmoral on a train leaving the station at 2:45pm.
The newspaper also tells us that Messrs. Walker & Company, cinematographers, Bridge Street, filmed the procession as it passed along the railway bridge on Guild Street. Assistant photographers with still cameras captured the rest of proceedings. This photograph was likely taken by one of these assistants.
A sign for Walker & Company can be seen hanging above the Music Hall entrance. This dates the image as belonging to this later royal visit by Princess Beatrice. She previously visited the city on 27th September 1883 to open an earlier bazaar for the Children's Hospital and to open the newly created Duthie Park Aberdeen Joint Station concourse showing the Newspaper Kiosk
542 Aberdeen Joint Station concourse showing the Newspaper Kiosk and train arrival and departure indicator boards. The station was built between 1913-1916. The engineer in charge was a Mr J. A. Parker. The Joint Station
595 The first Aberdeen Joint Station, opened November 1867, taken from the south before the building of Pirie's works or the laying out of Poyernook. In the background are Union Bridge and the spire of St. Nicholas as it was before the fire of 1874. The Guild Street Bridge can also be seen just behind the station building.
The newer Aberdeen Joint Station was built on the same site in 1913-16. Aberdeen Suburban Tramways
1052 This is tram no. 5 outside the Mannofield depot of the Aberdeen Suburban Tramways.
Inspector Kerr is on the platform and Driver George Cormack is beside him.
This was one of the first trams purchased by the company which started business in 1904. The tram was built by the British Electrical Engineering Co, Loughborough and was one of six delivered in sections by rail to Aberdeen Joint Station in June 1904 before being taken to the depot for assembly.
They were double deck with the upper deck being open topped. The upper deck had 35 seats with 33 below.
The lower deck was split into 3 compartments with the centre one being non-smoking. It had leather upholstery and horsehair padded benches that sat 7 on each side.
The other (smoking) compartments had slatted wooden benches seating 2 to each side. The company ceased running trams in 1927.
Behind tram no. 5 in this image can be seen part of the Aberdeen Corporation Tramways water spraying tramcar. Portland Street at the junction with Wellington Road
1533 A photograph showing the house that was located at the junction of Portland Street and Wellington Road. It can be seen on the Ordnance Survey 1867 Aberdeen town plan, sheet LXXV.15.3.
This image looks north and gives a good view of the building that is thought to have once been the home of Provost George Auldjo of Portlethen (1756-1806). He followed his father, John Auldjo, in running the brick and tiles works in the Clayworks, located to the rear of this house.
The brick and tile works exploited the large amount of clay in the area. By the late 1860s the clay pits were ceasing to be worked. The Clayhills area was consequently leased out for yards and works of various kinds.
The building visible on the right is likely the preserved provision works which was active for only one or two years before moving to South Mount Street.
This house was demolished, and the area radically altered, with the road and railway improvement scheme that finished in 1904. This was carried out by the railway companies as part of the Joint Station extension scheme.
The improvements saw the construction of the lower part of South College Street, which would run through the Clayhills area.
For more details on the Clayhills brick and tile works and the roadworks see G. M. Fraser's article 'Affleck Street and the Clayhills' in The Press and Journal, 16th July 1926, page 4 and the article 'Ferryhill Street Improvements' in The Aberdeen Daily Journal, 24th October 1904, page 4. Rothienorman Church
1730 Rothienorman is a village about 25 miles north of Aberdeen and 10 miles from Inverurie. The church began as a mission station in 1935, under Inverurie, before being raised to full status in 1947. In 1958, it became a joint charge with Culsalmond but it is now linked with Fyvie. Rev. Alexander Noble has recently been inducted to the charge but, at the time of this photo, the minister was Rev. Rodney Milligan, who had the charge from 1958. The church was designed by the Aberdeen architect, George Bennett Mitchell, in 1936. The roof is supported by arched oak beams which are painted black, as is the bell tower, in contrast to the grey harled walls. The pews came from the United Free Church in Rayne, while the communion table and chains in light oak were gifted by James Dalgarno, in memory of his wife. At first glance, its unusual design makes the passerby think that it is a private house but most visitors regard it as a beautiful building. Brae Farm
1790 This photograph was taken in 1951 by James Kellas and looks east showing, on the left, the rear of Brae Farm, located on Morningside Road, and part of 142 Morningside Avenue on the right.
There was originally a Brae Farm to the north west of this location that can be seen the Ordnance Survey map published in 1869 (Aberdeen Sheet LXXV.14). Just to the north of the old farm on the map is a single Aberdeen Water Works reservoir.
An article from The Leopard magazine by Diane Morgan (October/November 1985) explains that in 1885 an Aberdeen Corporation Water Act was passed to empower the Town Council to take eight million gallons daily from the River Dee and to build a second reservoir at Mannofield. This was to keep up with the city's rapid population increase.
To carry out the expansion, the council acquired the land adjoining the initial reservoir including the first Brae Farmhouse and its steadings. They then became known as Reservoir Cottage and Reservoir House and served as the home of the inspector of the water works. A relatively early inspector was called William Clark. On 28th February 1898 he died at the cottage aged 64. He was buried in the John Knox Churchyard (Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 02/03/1898, p.4).
Clark was likely succeeded as waterworks inspector by James Forsyth. The Forsyth family lived at the cottage well into the 20th century. James was married to Margaret (née Jaffray), who died after him on 28th July 1945, aged 85. Their second son, Sapper John Forsyth, died aged 26 at Oldmill Military Hospital on 20th April 1917. He was buried at Springback Cemetery.
The reservoirs continue to play a vital role in supplying water to Aberdeen. The cottage and house however were demolished in the late 20th century and replaced by modern water treatment buildings.
As shown on the 1901 OS map, sometime shortly after the passing of the 1885 act the Brae Farm we can see in this picture was built to the south east, where Morningside Road met Auchinyell Bridge. To the east, Aberdeenshire County Cricket Ground was also built around the same time.
This later Brae Farm was the home to the Kinnaird family for the first half of the 20th century. The heads of the family were Frank Kinnaird and Margaret Amelia Smith.
Their son Lance-Corporal A. G. Kinnaird, of the Royal Scots, was reported as a prisoner of war in Germany in June 1918. Prior to the war he had worked with the Clydesdale Bank (Evening Express, 03/06/1918 p.3).
Frank's eldest daughter, Jessie Sinclair, married James Smith Mathieson at Ruthrieston U.F. Church on 7th September 1927 (Evening Express, 08/09/1927, p.6).
A younger daughter, Edith Kinnaird, married a man from Portsmouth called Andrew Livingstone in July 1936. The marriage took place in Ruthrieston West Church and the reception was at the Caledonian Hotel (Press & Journal, 06/06/1936 p.8).
Daughters Amelia Elizabeth and Margaret Kinnaird both left Brae Farm in the 1920s (1924 and 1920, respectively) to reunite with fiancés who had travelled ahead to Canada.
Frank Kinnaird died on 12th August 1950, aged 84.
At some point during the 1930s-1950s the residential streets we know today, Morningside Avenue, Terrace and Place were constructed between the reservoir and the new farmstead. These streets take their name from Morningside Farm to the east. As can be seen in this photograph, the farm stood into the 1950s. It was eventually demolished when Morningside Avenue was extended to meet Morningside Road. The newer bungalows can be distinguished by their tiled, rather than slated roofs. Guild Street Road Bridge
1872 This bridge was built in the 1860s to extend Guild Street, over the railway tracks, and link up with the newly built Bridge Street. It was part of the development of the first Aberdeen Joint Station and the Denburn Valley Railway.
Correspondent Ed Fowler describes the bridge as follows: A riveted and latticed 2-span steel bowstring bridge with flat-span plate-girder pedestrian footpaths to the North and South sides. It has corniced and panelled, granite terminal piers.
The chimney of Hadden's Factory is visible beyond, with Trinity Hall to the left and St Nicholas Church Steeple to the right.
A query concerning the exact date of erection for Hadden's chimney is asked in "Aberdeen Journal" Notes and Queries, vol. II, 1909, on page 77 by a "J. M." This is answered on page 383 by "R. A." with the following:
"The following appears in 'Aberdeen Journal,' 31st October, 1838:- 'The new Chimney Stalk of Messrs Hadden's Works, in the Green, is now in operation, and completely answers its purpose. It is 2021/2 feet above the level of the ground; 6 feet in diameter, inside, at the top; contains 126,500 bricks; and is calculated to weigh, altogether, about 850 tons." Burnieboozle House
2603 A photograph of Burnieboozle House taken from The Freedom Lands and Marches of Aberdeen 1319-1929 compiled by Donald B. Gunn (1929).
This was a country house located to the north west of Craigiebuckler House, at the end of what is now Burnieboozle Crescent. The house could be accessed by a road going south from Burnieboozle Farm on Hazledene Road.
Judging by Ordnance Survey mapping, the building looks to have been demolished as the area was developed for housing in the late 1950s. The house's location is now a children's play area in the centre of a modern housing development.
There is an excellent plan by surveyor James J. Beattie of the lands and house of Burnieboozle in 1848 available on the National Library of Scotland website here. It features a detailed illustration of the house's exterior, showing an extended conservatory and gabled entrance, a floorplan of its two floors and a map of the estate's land. Demolition of the old arched roof in 1913, showing the rolling gantry used to assist the work
2637 In 1909 a new suburban booking office and platforms were opened to the west of the main building, accessed from Bridge Street. It was 1912 before work began on rebuilding the old Joint Station itself including upgrading the track layout to provide 13 platforms, and improved storage, parcels and fish-loading facilities. The arched roof was replaced by a pitched glass roof over the concourse only with cast iron, glass and wood canopies extending along each platform.
The new station, completed in 1915, forms the core of the station as it is today. A refurbished High Speed Train
2650 The HSTs currently still run to London but will be soon be replaced by new bi-mode trains. New overnight stock is also due to come into service on the Caledonian Sleeper.
Conversely upgraded HSTs will be introduced on internal ScotRail services from 2018 replacing class 158 and 170 units. A new servicing depot is currently being built at Clayhills adjacent to the station. Work has also started on the Aberdeen to Inverness capacity improvements.
Rail travel is still increasing so hopefully Aberdeen Joint Station will continue to serve for another 150 years.
By 2019 ScotRail services to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness will be operated by refurbished High Speed Trains. The first of these units is seen at Aberdeen Station in September 2017. Aberdeen Fish Market
2707 An Adelphi Series postcard (no. 520) showing Icelandic fish being brought ashore and made available for sale at Aberdeen's covered fish market.
The covered fish market at Aberdeen Harbour was built in 1889 and was located on the north side of Albert Basin on Commercial Road, adjacent to Market Street.
This view likely looks west towards Market Street and Aberdeen more generally. The chimney visible in the background may belong to the Union Works then located beyond the Joint Railway Station. First aeroplane at Aberdeen
2712 An Adelphi Series postcard showing Mr B. C. Hucks flying the first aeroplane in Aberdeen over the Bathing Station at the Beach on 29th August 1912. Inset is portrait of the aviator. Fidler's Well
2737 A photograph showing a horse drinking from Fidler's Well in Guild Street. The image is taken from the Evening Express of 13th September 1929. It was accompanied by an article detailing the visit to Aberdeen of the grandson of the well's benefactor, Alexander Fidler. The grandson, who lived in Chicago, had visited the public library and learnt much about his ancestor and the well from G. M. Fraser and then visited the Evening Express office.
The article contains information on Dr William Guild, to whom the well is dedicated, Alexander Fidler and his brother John, who ran a well known pie-shop on Shiprow.
The wording on the well's granite basin reads "Dedicated to Dr William Guild. Died 1657. Lammas, A. F."
The inscription on the cast iron fountain is as follows:
"Fountainhall, 1st August 1857.
Water springs for man and beast,
At your service I am here;
Although six thousand years of age,
I am caller, clean, and clear.
Erected for the inhabitants of The World
by
Alexander Fidler."
In this image the well is shown at its 2nd location, outside the Goods Station and opposite what was the Balmoral Temperance Hotel & Restaurant. Aberdeen Cinemas: Casino
3410 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Casino cinema in around 1963.
The Casino cinema was opened on Wales Street on 7th February 1916 by John Peter Kilgour, a dealer in various waste materials. It had close competition with Bert Gate's Star Picture Palace just around the corner on Park Street. Michael Thomson in The Silver Screen in the Silver City describes the Casino as the second of Aberdeen's purpose-built picture halls. It and the "Starrie" served the population of the city's east end for many years.
The Casino was built on the site of Kilgour's factory yards. The architects for the project were George Sutherland and Clement George. The building's "Spanish villa" design is described by Thomson as unique for Aberdeen and highly unusual throughout Scotland. One distinctive feature was the low square tower at the Park Street side of the building that was topped by a red-tiled concave pyramidal roof. Thomson writes that features of the building combined to "bring a welcome splash of colour and gaiety to an otherwise drab corner of the city."
Following the death of John Peter Kilgour in 1920, the running of the Casino and his waste business was taken over by his son, Ormande L. Kilgour.
In the silent era the venue was a stronghold of cine-variety, showing all manner of performances in-between film screenings. In February 1936 the cinema celebrated its 20th birthday and a cake was cut by Kilgour and one the Casino's oldest patrons, a Mrs Stewart.
In November 1939 Bert Gates and Aberdeen Picture Palaces bought a controlling interest share in the Casino. The Beach Boulevard, which opened on 25th May 1959, ran directly outside the cinema and gave the Casino a prominent location. In March of that year the cinema was given a thorough renovation.
Despite its new prominent location and recent renovation, the Casino closed down as a cinema on Saturday 3rd October 1959. A spokesperson for the Donald Cinemas Group stated in the Evening Express at the time that the closure was due to the housing in the area being pulled down and people moving to new estates. Michael Thomson suggests that the proximity of the relatively new first-run Regal in Shiprow might also have drawn away the hoped-for holiday crowds from the Casino.
In 1961 the empty Casino was sold to local bookmakers James Rennie and Arthur Forbes to be used as a bingo hall. This was at the height of bingo's popularity and the Casino proved too small. The bingo operation was moved to the Kingsway Cinema which had showed its final film, Warlord of Crete on 3rd February 1962.
The area around the Casino was earmarked for redevelopment by Aberdeen Town Council. The cinema building was compulsorily purchased and, after spending some time as a store, was demolished at the same time as the Star in 1971. The site is now occupied by a residential development.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picturedrome / Cinema House
3411 The Cinema House was located at the corner of Union Terrace, Skene Terrace and North Silver Street. The building was designed by Arthur H. L. Mackinnon and originally built in 1897-1898 as a clubhouse for the Aberdeen Union Club. Mackinnon (1870-1937) was a local architect who also designed the Aberdeen Fire Station on King Street and Mile End School.
The building's first recorded use for cinematographic purposes was a New Year Holiday Carnival organised by the pioneering Aberdeen cinematographer and exhibitor William Walker in December 1901. Alongside an early picture show the extravaganza featured the popular fiddler James Scott Skinner and a conjurer called Harry Marvello.
It was a Londoner by the name of Henry N. Philips who came to Aberdeen and in June 1910 converted this building into Aberdeen's second permanent cinema: the Picturedrome. The enterprise was a great success and Philip's formed a company called British Animated Pictures to run the cinema.
The 'Drome's first manager was Harry Fenton. He also appeared on the cinema's stage as a singer. This was a time when cinemas would often show a mixture of films and variety performances. The venue had a pianist called Hal Scott who would accompany performances and provided musical ambience.
The Picturedrome was noted for showing the film productions of Thomas Edison's Edison Studios and for consistently good stage turns.
In 1923 the Picturedrome/Union Club block was sold to the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds. They were one of the 19th century friendly societies in which people would band together prior to the development of more comprehensive welfare provision. The Shepherds continued to run the cinema for a period. A sign for the society can be seen in the top left of this image.
In May 1924 the cinema was taken over by James F. Donald. He was the patriarch of the Donald family that played a prominent role in the history of cinemas and theatres in Aberdeen. Restored and improved, the venue reopened on the 11th August of that year as the Cinema House. Donald initially held the premises on a 20-year lease, but would go on to buy the property outright.
This photograph, taken from in front of the Central Library, dates from around 1934 and shows the cinema advertising Father Brown Detective and The Lemon Drop Kid. Also visible next door at 2 Skene Terrace is a branch of the successful grocer and provision merchants, Wilburn Ltd.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] Aberdeen Cinemas: West End / Playhouse
3415 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Playhouse at 475 Union Street in January 1959. The venue originally opened on 12th November 1915 as a cinema called the West End. This was the first venture into full-time picture-hall proprietorship by James F. Donald, a key figure in the history of independent cinema exhibition in Aberdeen.
Donald was born in Newhills and came to Aberdeen for an apprenticeship with a coachbuilding firm. He had a varied career before coming to prominence as a highly successful dancing teacher. He was the leader of the Gondolier School of Dancing and Deportment.
He moved into the cinema business after acquiring the necessary projecting equipment and occupying a former billiard hall above the Aberdeen Dairy at 475 Union Street. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) describes the cinema as a "strictly utilitarian affair", but a successful one at that. It was only heated by stoves, and coupled with being above a diary, it became known as "The Tuppenny Freezer".
Donald's lease on the cinema expired in September 1920 and he was immediately followed as proprietor by Bert Gate's Aberdeen Picture Palaces. It was a time of expansion for the incoming company. They had recently purchased The Picturedrome on Skene Terrace and shortly looked to transform the West End. The latter closed on 2nd April and reopened on 14th September 1921 as the 1,000-seater Picture Playhouse.
The opening ceremony was attended by Gates, the cinema's architects George Sutherland and Clement George, and various local VIPs. The opening films were A Yankee in the Court of King Arthur, a comedy called Jerry on the Spot, Pathé news, and another short. Thomson states that Aberdeen Picture Palaces were "now the proud possessor of a large, well-situated 'flagship' house, and Union Street now sported a fine up-to-date cinema."
The design of the Playhouse was "classical" and up-market, in accordance with its prominent west-end location. As seen here, the Union Street entrance was surrounded by white Sicilian marble facings on a black marble base. The paybox was oval in shape with one end in the vestibule and the other in the front foyer.
The main foyer was through the Union Street part of the building and up a 12-feet wide carpeted, marble stairway. This way was a tea room called the Ingleneuk, the manager's office, and the ornately decorated auditorium. The plush new cinema represented competition for the nearby Picture House.
Bert Gates, the manager of the Playhouse, was somewhat sceptical of the talkies but fully embraced the new development in February 1930 with the installation of a full Western Electric sound system.
The opening of Aberdeen Picture Palace's Capitol down the road in 1933 saw a reduction in ticket prices at the Playhouse. The two partner cinemas were advertised at the time as "Aberdeen's Premier Pair".
On 23 May 1941 it was announced that James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. had bought a controlling interest in Aberdeen Picture Palaces. This meant that the Playhouse, along with the other APP venues, were now in the Donald circuit of cinemas.
This photograph dates from 1959 shortly before the cinema was relaunched as the Playhouse Continental, showing popular, often more risqué, films from Europe. This only lasted for a couple of years and the cinema reverted to being the Playhouse in 1961. This photograph shows the cinema advertising The Wind Cannot Read with Dirk Bogarde and All for Mary.
By 1973 the profitability of the Playhouse was eroded by spiralling costs. The owners of the building, builders James Scott & Son, had moved premises and were looking to dispose of the Union Street property. The cinema's lease was terminated at the end of 1973 and the cinema closed on 9th May 1974. Ownership of the block passed to Devanha Properties Ltd. and after lying empty for a few months the Playhouse was demolished to make way for a new block of shops and offices.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regent / Odeon
3417 The Regent was opened as the second, companion cinema of Jack Poole, after his transformation of the Palace on Bridge Place that had opened in 1931. The Justice Mills location was selected and the cinema was constructed on the eastern end of the historic Upper Mill. A cinema was able to utilise the sloping nature of the site in the way few other projects could.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) states that work progressed on the new cinema at an excellent rate with virtually all material and labour coming from local sources. The sparkling Rubislaw granite frontage was the work of masons Edgar Gauld of Gilcomston Terrace. Wood for the joinery work came from Sweden and Finland.
The Regent was Aberdeen's first all-new cinema since the Torry Picture House a decade before. It was also the first cinema designed by Thomas Scott Sutherland, who had previously been a designer of, and dealer in, houses, notably the granite bungalows of the Broomhill estate.
The impressive new cinema opened on Saturday 27th February 1932, to an audience mostly of guests, with the main feature being a melodrama called Over the Hill. Reporting on the opening, the Evening Express wrote the following:
"Even though Aberdeen has many magnificent edifices, there is nothing quite so distinctive as the modern design of the front of the new Regent. Fine use has been made of straight lines and curves placed in sharp contrast, and the face that looks through the entrance to Justice Mill Lane on Holburn Street has an imposing dignity about it and yet an elusive gaiety in its composition. It is built of grey granite decorated with bands of red terracotta, and a polished black granite base."
The frontage was floodlit by night and outlined by Aberdeen's neon display. Above the gantry was the large, neon "Regent" sign which made the cinema a beacon at night. The Regent and the Palace were then advertised as "Aberdeen's Super Two".
The Regent's manager John K. Stafford Poole, son of Jack Poole, was aged only 21 when the Regent opened and his innovative promotion and displays became a signature of the cinema. The younger Poole regularly invited the Gordon Highlanders to screenings and in return they would afterwards march, pipes a-skirl, through the cinema and along Union Street back to their barracks.
The Regent proved hugely popular and was soon out-performing the Palace. The success of Poole's Regent prompted Aberdeen Picture Palaces to undertake the creation of their own super-cinema, the Capitol, which would open in 1933. The same year also saw the release of King Kong and the publicity stunt of a human dressed as an ape rampaging on the frontage of the Regent.
On 16th July 1936 it was announced that another southern company called County Cinemas had acquired all the Poole picture houses, those in Devonport, Derby and Plymouth, as well as the Palace and Regent in Aberdeen. In 1939 County Cinemas merged with the larger Odeon chain. In July 1940 the "Regent" sign came down to be replaced with one that read "Odeon". As part of this powerful national circuit, the cinema could rival any in Aberdeen for showing major features.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] Aberdeen Cinemas: Regent / Odeon
3418 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph showing the Odeon on Justice Mill Lane in 1973. The cinema is advertising screenings of Ohh... You Are Awful a comedy vehicle for Dick Emery.
Odeon had acquired control of the venue in 1939 when they purchased previous owners County Cinemas. The cinema's name had changed from the Regent to the Odeon in 1940. This photograph shows the cinema shortly before it was "tripled" to become the first multi-screen film centre in the north of Scotland. This was the process of converting a traditional single large auditorium into three screens of varying sizes.
This was the modern method of cinema development that had been introduced throughout Britain by the Rank and ABC-EMI chains. The Rank Organisation had acquired the Odeon company in 1938. The tripling of Aberdeen's Odeon cost £65,000 and was fully completed on 8th April 1974.
The Odeon had a long and successful time as a cinema. The 1960s saw it showing long runs of hit films like Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and The Sound of Music. The cinema was also known for its Saturday morning children's show known as "The Mickey".
Being part of a nationwide chain, and its central location, enabled the Odeon to survive through the 1970s whereas many of Aberdeen's independent cinemas, unable to adapt, closed down and were either demolished or converted to a different use.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) states that the cinema had a close reprieve from Rank Organisation rationalisations in 1981. This enabled the cinema to celebrate its 50th birthday with a special gala evening on 13th March 1982. The film shown was a provincial premiere of On Golden Pond, starring Peter Fonda and Audrey Hepburn. The cinema's original manager, J. K. S. Poole, was a guest of honour.
Two new 215-seater screens were opened at the cinema in March 1991 at a cost of £350,000. Their opening was marked with a screening of Dances With Wolves. There were just two cinemas in Aberdeen at the time, the other being the Cannon at the other end of Union Street.
The Odeon continued up until the modern multiplex era. It finally closed down 13th June 2001. It was subsequently converted into a health centre and is currently occupied by Nuffield Health Centre.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Woodside Station
3847 A photograph showing Woodside Railway Station. This image likely dates from the early to mid 20th century and is looking north east from the station's southern platform. The houses in the background would be those of Don Terrace. Beyond these houses is woodland and the River Don.
Woodside Station was located not from north from Great Northern Road, along Station Road. Woodside Works was location to the north west of the station further along this road. Tourist information caravan
4215 A City of Aberdeen Council employee showing a visitor a map.
This photograph was taken inside City of Aberdeen's tourist information caravan. Other images indicate this substantial caravan was pulled by a gold coloured Range Rover.
Aberdeen City Council appear to have used a caravan like this from at least 1978. Its purpose was to provide information for visitors and would also have been able to assist with accommodation and activity bookings.
The caravan appears to have been sited at road-side locations for considerable periods. One location between 1978 and 1985 was the lay-by on the Stonehaven Road, across the A92 from the foot of Nigg Way, as the road approaches Aberdeen from the south.
The kitchen equipment seen here in the background would no doubt be useful when the caravan was in its location.
The photograph comes from a collection of slides from the 1970s and 80s donated to Aberdeen City Libraries by Aberdeen City Council's publicity department. Another image of the caravan suggests these ones may date from 1980. Treasure 113: Railway Station Plans
334 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the main railway station in Aberdeen. One of our treasures this month is a plan which shows the siting of the original joint railway station and the beginning of the Denburn Valley Line.
This plan was published as a supplement to the Aberdeen Free Press and is dated May 29th 1863. The plan shows the proposed station and the surrounding area. The station and areas around it which require alteration are tinted in dark and light red. We can see that the plans involved the extension of Guild Street and the creation of access roads to the station so that it could be easily reached via a variety of approaches. Other features of note are the proposed tunnel earmarked for the Woolmanhill area and also the Scottish North Eastern Railway Station on Guild Street which indicates that the joint station was not the first station to be built in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Joint Station was opened on the 4th November 1867 and a glowing report and detailed description of the new building can be found in the Aberdeen Journal: "it is truly a magnificent building; and its proportions are such as few stations in the three kingdoms will surpass in point of elegance." William Smith, city architect at the time, was the architect of the joint station and John Willet the engineer.
Learn more about the other stations of Aberdeen, now vanished, in the Treasures from our Collections digital exhibition on the touch screens. Treasure 114: Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works
335 The construction of the Aberdeen Corporation Electricity Works at Dee Village and the associated cable subway was a major engineering feat for the city and constituted a significant step in its journey towards electrification.
The large scale generating station was first suggested in 1899 by Mr. James Alexander Bell, the Electrical Engineer for the city. This treasure from our collection is a photograph album that documents the construction of the site from the clearing of the land in 1901 to the operational station in early 1904. The full leather bound album contains approximately 78 photographs showing the clearance of the land, the construction of the building exteriors, interiors, erection of the chimney, laying of the cable subway and the installation of the then top of the line machinery. Images of the houses that occupied the land prior to the works are also included. The photographs themselves are beautiful 8 by 6 inch prints that show a great level of detail. Most of the images are labelled with the date they were taken, which eases following the complicated construction process. The photographs within our album constitute a unique record of an important piece of Aberdeen's civic and technological history.
Read about the full and fascinating history of this site and its development in the Treasures from our Collections interactive display. |