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Victoria Park
241 In 1871 Aberdeen Town Council decided to convert nearly 14 acres of Glennie's Parks, which had been used for cattle grazing, into a public recreation ground - Aberdeen's first public park.
Aberdeen's lack of a public park up to this point had become a contentious issue. For example, newspaper reports indicate that those opposed to the Municipality Extension Act of 1871 (which extended the boundary of the city, brought the functions of the Police Commissioners under the Council and incorporated the gasworks) repeatedly suggested that the expense involved in the new bill would be better used in the creation of a much wanted public park.
It is not unreasonable to suppose that this debate, and criticism of the Council, hastened the creation of Victoria Park. While work likely begun in 1871, it was not until March 1873 that the Improvements Committee of the Council recommended that the new park should be called "Victoria Park". At the same time, they also outlined a series of 13 rules and regulations for agreement by the full Council. There does not appear to have been an official opening for the new amenity.
Glennie's Park was not the only site considered for Aberdeen's first public park. Interest in such an undertaking was increasing at the same time as work was underway to divert the River Dee and improve the harbour. The new ground created in this latter project, encompassing the old, more northerly course of the river and the Inches, was a much proposed location for a park. Following the creation of Victoria Park this newly leveled ground was instead given over for buildings related to the expanding fishing industry.
A nurseryman called Robert Walker (1848-1930), originally from Perth, was chosen out of 450 candidates to be the city's first public park keeper and appointed to Victoria Park. He was likely largely responsible for the park's initial layout and appearance. His Press & Journal obituary (21/04/1930, p.6) suggests that prior to his appointment the site was "little better than a waste space".
Walker subsequently laid out Westburn Park, Stewart Park, Union Terrace Gardens and the Promenade. He also advocated and pioneered the planting of street trees. He served the Corporation for 46 years, retiring in 1919, and must be considered one of the unsung heroes of Aberdeen history.
This photograph, taken around 1900, shows one of the main paths leading to a large granite fountain, which was designed by J.B. Pirie. It is built of 14 different types of granite and was presented by the granite polishers and master builders of the city.
Since the park is almost in the city centre, it is an oasis of peace with its mature trees and, in spring, there are masses of flowering bulbs scattered through the grass. The Puffing Briggie
532 A scene of change and renovation in the Denburn Valley. The image looks south from Union Bridge over the suburban platforms of the old Aberdeen Joint Railway Station. The old station's large, curved roof can be seen in the background.
The area we are looking at has seen much change since this time. It is now largely covered by the 1960s retail development on the south side of the bridge, the later Trinity Centre, the development of Wapping Street and Denburn Road, and the building of Atholl House. Though many of the buildings of note we can see in this image are still visible today.
The tall buildings on the far right are the rear of those on Bridge Street. The small street in front of them, going up to Guild Street, is the start of College Street. It is now a partially pedestrianised lane that goes under Wapping Street. The building at the top of this street is the classical style suburban ticket office, built 1909 and now home to Tiffany Hair & Beauty.
Going west along Guild Street's two span road bridge we come to the Great North of Scotland Railway Company's headquarters. This was designed by architects Ellis & Wilson and built in 1894. It is now part of the Station Hotel, along with number 78 next door. The building retains many of its original features. The Guild Street entrance to the Trinity Centre now runs along the western side of this building.
The image also shows features that are no longer present. The covered walkway that can be seen on the near right of the image enabled direct access from the station's central platform to the Palace Hotel on Union Street. The hotel was owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Co. (GNSR). The walkway was vaulted to pass over the tracks at sufficient height.
Consulting The Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992 (c1992), this image probably dates from 1912 when, in additional to commencing the reconstruction of the Joint Station, the GNSR also laid new loading docks and carriage storage siding in the Hadden Mills site (left of image). This was to ensure that the main station buildings were used purely for passenger traffic.
The walkway that linked Windmill Brae and the Green, known affectionately as the Puffing Briggie, can be seen in the centre of the image. It looks like a section on the left has been temporarily demolished as part of the ongoing work.
The sidings on the extreme left were used for cleaning carriages in the later 20th century. One of our correspondents recounts using the often-unattended carriages, accessible when entering the station from the Green, as an unusually exciting and plush playground during their youth in the late-1940s. Dyer's Hall Lane
685 A photograph looking north-west across Dyer's Hall Lane in 1904.
This lane and row of cottages were situated south of Union Street near the Hardgate at what was soon to become Willowbank Road.
Some of these cottages were thought to date to before 1789. Though some would be more recent than that. The lane's name derives from when the old Dyers' Association met there.
The houses were roofed with red pantiles which were replaced with asbestos when the roofs began to leak. They had outside stairs to the upper floors and water taps outside the door.
The Town Council felt that it would be too costly to preserve the cottages despite their historic interest. They were among the few remaining examples of 18th century houses in the city.
They were demolished in 1956 to make way for extensions to the Station Garage.
The tall chimney in the background likely belonged to the nearby North of Scotland Distillery (formerly known as the Bon-Accord Distillery).
Dyer's Hall Lane was replaced by Willowbank Road in around 1906. This was the first part of a new thoroughfare, incorporating Springbank Terrace, that would connect Holburn Street to Wellington Road (later South College Street).
An article detailing the improvement scheme can be found in the Aberdeen Daily Journal of 21st March 1906 on page 4. Rubislaw Terrace, Aberdeen
709 Rubislaw Terrace, Aberdeen in around 1880. This photograph by George Washington Wilson shows the granite splendour of this terrace, which was planned by the architects Thomas Mackenzie and James Matthews, jointly with James Giles, artist.
The houses were to be erected on the property of James Skene of Rubislaw, on the north side of Albyn Place. The Aberdeen Journal of 31st March 1852 describes the plans as thus: "The style of architecture possesses in a high degree the rare merit of combining what is new, at least in Aberdeen, with what is, in point of taste exceedingly beautiful".
The houses have crowstepped gables and plain windows alternating with bow windows which have a balustrade, and had 11-15 rooms.
In 1854, James Matthews actually lived there, and later occupants included a paper manufacturer, a ship owner, and a number of advocates.
Today, many of the houses have been converted into offices for legal firms. Granite balustrades and a garden area separate the terrace from Albyn Terrace. 13 Skene Square
792 A photograph showing 13 Skene Square in the late 19th century. This tenement is thought to be the birthplace of the genre and portrait painter John Phillip (1817-1867).
The image is included as a plate in Historical Aberdeen: the Castle and the Castle-hill, the Snow Church, the Woolmanhill and neighbourhood, the Guestrow by G. M. Fraser (1905).
Fraser indicates that the tablet that can be seen above the door was put up in memory of John Phillip by his friend William Brodie (1815-1881), the sculptor.
Fraser elaborates as follows:
"The first plate on the house, 13 Skene Square, was placed there by William Brodie, the sculptor. that house was pulled down six years ago, but fortunately Mr George Watt, architect, the proprietor of the house erected on the spot, has, with much public spirit, placed a bronze tablet on the new house telling that Phillip's house stood on that site. I wish we could be absolutely certain that Phillip was born here. There can be no doubt that he lived here as a child, but it suggestive that in the detailed notices of Phillip in the Aberdeen papers at the time of his death, it was said that he was born in Windy Wynd, where his father was a shoemaker. See Aberdeen Journal, 6th March, 1867; Aberdeen Free Press, 1st March, 1867. Trinity Lane
1208 Trinity Lane, Aberdeen, c.1975, from Exchange Street.
The Trinity place-name comes from the area once being the site of a Trinitarian Friary.
The building to the right in this photograph was once known as Trinity Chapel, or Trinity Parish Church. It was opened for public worship on Sunday 27th April, 1794.
For a number of years, the chapel was an important centre of religious life and activity. The Disruption of 1843 significantly diminished the congregation. The building was subsequently sold by the Presbytery and became the Alhambra Music Hall.
See Gammie's Churches of Aberdeen (1909) for more information on the history of this congregation and building.
A large part of the exterior still stands and the building currently houses Wagley's public house. In this photograph Alex. McKay, electrical appliance showroom, is in occupation. Newspaper notices indicate that the business moved here, from 41 The Green, in 1966.
The building in the centre of the image is best known, as shown here, as a banana warehouse for Knowles & Sons, fruiterers and later as a restaurant and art gallery. It was originally built as a church for Aberdeen's Catholic Apostolic congregation.
MUSA was a restaurant and art space, with a focus on music, throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. It closed down in October 2018.
8th March 2019 saw the opening of a new bar in the building called The Hop & Anchor, specialising in craft beer. It is owned by a company called the Draft House and this is their first pub outside London. The Draft House is owned by Brewdog, the North East beer company. Rosehill Farm
1485 A photograph, likely by James G. Kellas and from the early 1950s, showing Rosehill Hill Farm.
The large scale Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1867, those revised in 1899 and in 1924 show the farm located on the north side of Cairncry Road. Rosehill Quarries were located to the north of the farm buildings.
The OS map surveyed in 1955 shows the farm surrounded by a modern housing estate. The buildings are then nos. 8, 10 and 12 Blackthorn Crescent.
The farm buildings later appear to have made way for new housing developments on Blackthorn Crescent and no remains of the farm can be seen today.
In the early 19th century the lands of Rosehill, along with Burnside and Ruthrieston, were acquired by Alexander Duthie, a successful advocate in Aberdeen, and later passed to his grandson Walter, a writer to the signet in Edinburgh. Walter was the uncle of Elizabeth Crombie Duthie, who donated Duthie Park to the people. See the latter's obituary in the Evening Express of 30th March 1885, page 3, for further detail. Commerce Street School class portrait
1710 The name of the individuals and the class shown here are unknown. The board held by the child in the centre looks like it says Commerce Street at the top. The rest is more difficult to read. The line below may read "Senior I", suggesting that the children shown here might be around 11 to 12 in age.
Records for Commerce Street School are held by the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives (under reference ED/AT5/1).
The online catalogue entry for these records indicates that Commerce Street was the first new school completed by Aberdeen School Board and was opened on 13 March 1876. The school closed on 30 June 1925 and the pupils were transferred to Hanover Street School. Thereafter the Commerce Street School buildings were used as the infant department of Hanover Street School.
The photograph likely dates from sometime in the early 20th century. Treasure 6: Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen
2275 Enthusiastic gardeners who have spent months, if not years, nurturing their plants have the opportunity to display their efforts at flower shows - usually held in August or September. These events for individuals happen all around the country and have a long history.
Britain in Bloom is the national flower show for whole communities. It was the brainchild of Roy Hay, a horticultural journalist. Following a holiday in France where he admired the "Fleurissement de France", he persuaded the British Travel and Holidays Association (later the British Tourist Authority) to organise a similar competition for communities in Britain.
Although the first competition in 1964 was won by Bath, Aberdeen received a "Special Mention". The city did even better in 1965 when it won the National Trophy. Although it did not win again until 1969, the city then continued its success each year until 1971. However, this achievement led to Aberdeen being debarred from the National Competition in 1972 although it still won the Scottish section. 1973 and 1974 saw Aberdeen winning the National award again, and its record 10th win was in 1998.
A slogan competition was held for the 1968 campaign when the winning entry proclaimed "Aberdeen - Garden City by the Sea".
In order to celebrate Britain in Bloom and Aberdeen's success in the competition we have chosen to highlight our collection of historic prize schedules for the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen's annual exhibition.
The Aberdeenshire Horticultural Society was founded in March 1824 when a meeting of "Practical Gardeners" was held in the New Inn for the "purpose of forming themselves into a Society". The Earl of Aberdeen graciously agreed to be Patron of the Society.
In November 1863, it was announced at the annual general meeting that HRH the Prince of Wales had now agreed to become Patron of the Society and that the Society's name was to be changed to the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen.
The Society's "Prize Schedule for Exhibition" gives details of each of the classes which can be entered, with the prizes which can be won - a sum of money or a cup or medal. In 1920, there were a total of 222 classes and those who exhibited were split into one of four Divisions - professional gardeners; nurserymen and florists; amateurs and working class.
The Schedules also contain the Rules of Competition, the Constitution of the Society and a list of Subscriptions and Donations received - these include names, addresses and amounts given. Our earliest copies of the booklets cover the period 1920 - 1937, although the file is incomplete.
The Society celebrated its 175th anniversary in 1999. To take a closer look at these, and many other Aberdeen historic documents, visit Aberdeen Central Library. Edward Hall
2389 In March 1885, the City Librarian, A.W. Robertson, reported to the Free Public Library Committee that he had examined all the volumes that were to be transferred from the Mechanics' Institution, "and a note taken of any injury or imperfections, or both, that may have been found therein". He discovered that, while many were unsuitable due to their poor condition, others required repairs including fixing leaves and plates, re-attaching books to their covers and mending corners, and believed that this work "could be done most economically and conveniently on the library premises".
Edward Hall worked for the William Jackson bookbinders at the time and was sent by the company to carry out this work, including all the gilt lettering.
After the first six months of the new public library, and the wear and tear on the books "being already large and accumulating from day to day", the library committee were considering the appointment of a library binder to maintain the stock and repair minor faults before the volumes needed total rebinding. In August 1886, Mr Hall was appointed at a wage of twenty-three shillings weekly. Although other binding work was still undertaken by local firms William Jackson and John Avery, the Librarian was pleased to note in his annual report for 1885-86 that "The results of the experiment so far have been satisfactory, justifying the expectation that it would effect a saving both of time and of cost of rebinding".
The library bookbinders' wages and working hours were regulated by agreement with their trade union and in the 1890-91 Library Committee Minutes, it is noted that the Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union had agreed a reduction in the bookbinders' working week from 54 to 51 hours.
After the Town Council made a resolution that all staff should retire when they reached the age of 65 years, the Library Committee had to ask Mr Hall to retire in May 1935. At this time his wages were £3.15. 6 per week.
In an interview with the People's Journal reporter, he expressed his disappointment that he was unable to complete his 50 years' service, even though he was then 72 years old. The Library Committee agreed that he would receive a weekly allowance of 16/8 (sixteen shillings and eight pence) in recognition of his long and efficient service.
At his retiral presentation, he was presented by the City Librarian, G.M. Fraser, with "a beautiful chiming clock with Westminster and the new Jubilee chimes". Gantry for removing station roof in 1912
2636 At the start of the 20th century work began to widen the station approach lines from Ferryhill with new sidings at Guild Street and Craiginches as well as a replacement locomotive depot at Ferryhill. Aberdeen Cable Subway
2886 This photograph shows the interior of the Aberdeen Cable Subway and was taken on the 1st March 1903. The subway was constructed as part of the Dee Village Electricity Works.
It was designed as a clever way to supply electricity to key areas without either unsightly overhead cables or repeatedly digging up of the streets. It was installed at a cost of £18,661 and was eight feet high by four feet eight inches wide. It runs up Crown Street, turns along Langstane Place and horse-shoes into Holburn Street.
It was designed with room to add cabling as demand increased. In order to minimise disruption, the subway was installed at the same time as a new sewer located below. The cable subway is still there today and remains one of many intriguing subterranean features of the city. The subway's ornate Art Nouveau ventilation shaft can be seen at the western end of Justine Mill Lane.
This image is from an album of photographs held by Aberdeen City Libraries detailing the construction of the Dee Village Electricity Works between 1901 and 1903. March Stone 1 CR|ABD
3177 This stone is located near the kerb at 79 Hardgate, at the east side of the intersection with Union Glen. It is march stone 1 and marks the the junction of the Inner and Outer Marches to the south of the town.
The 1929 Blue Book gives the following 1525 description for an earlier version of the stone: "[...] ane gret grey stane, with ane sawssir [...]". It was still marked with a saucer in 1698 but a new stone marked '1 ABD CR' was in place by the late 18th century.
The Ordnance Survey town plan of Aberdeen from 1867 has a first March stone marked on the north east corner of the New Bridge, on the Hardgate, which went over the then open Hol Burn. This stream ran east then south, joining Ferryhill Burn on its way to the Dee (where we can now find the Alpha stone).
The Hol and Ferryhill burns have since been fully, or for the most part, covered over by urban development.
The Blue Book records stone 1 at the north gable of 81 Hardgate and a photograph of it up-right at this location is included.
The inscription in this 1980s image looks different and the marker was likely moved to this flat, roadside location when the properties on the Hardgate were redeveloped sometime in the mid-20th century. The stone would have been either moved and altered, or replaced.
The stone in 2020 looks in better condition than shown here in the 1980s, which suggests it has had further attention in the intervening years.
A slide of this image was kindly lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Colin Johnston so that we could create a digital copy for public use.
The image was taken in the early 1980s when Colin worked as a teacher at Bridge of Don Academy. He led several current and former pupils, and staff members in an investigation into the location, physical condition and public knowledge of Aberdeen's historic boundary markers. March Stone 2
3178 This 1980s photograph shows stone number 2 flat in the pavement outside the entrance to Ferryhill Library. Subsequent redevelopment of this area has seen the same stone move to a grassy area between the new car park and the roundabout.
The Blue Book indicates there is no description of the marker from the 1525 perambulation. It does however give a 1698 description, as taken from Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen (1818):
"Therefrae, ryding in the Hardgate to the house called the Halfpennie house, where there is a march-stone, with an sauser, at the north-west side of said house, on the brink of the burne."
It also notes that the stone was missing at the Riding of the Marches in 1889, but had since been replaced.
A slide of this image was kindly lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Colin Johnston so that we could create a digital copy for public use.
The image was taken in the early 1980s when Colin worked as a teacher at Bridge of Don Academy. He led several current and former pupils, and staff members in an investigation into the location, physical condition and public knowledge of Aberdeen's historic boundary markers. March Stone 31 (plus Doupin' Stone)
3213 This stone is located in the same field north of Wynford. It is marked "31 ABD". The line of the marches from number 30 has left the Littlemill Burn, for the Blind Burn, and headed north a short distance.
The descriptions in 1525 and 1698 there had not been a marker stone here at those times. In 1780 two large earthfast stones were noted, both saucer marked.
It was here that new burgesses underwent the initiation of "doupin'", or being dropped onto the stone. This took place during the Riding of the Marches. The Doupin' cup stone is next to the lettered stone.
This is the north west corner of the Freedom Lands. However, the boundary line does go further north that this point; north east to stone number 34 at Greenwelltree, later Craibstone Golf Course.
A slide of this image was kindly lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Colin Johnston so that we could create a digital copy for public use.
The image was taken in the early 1980s when Colin worked as a teacher at Bridge of Don Academy. He led several current and former pupils, and staff members in an investigation into the location, physical condition and public knowledge of Aberdeen's historic boundary markers. March Stone 1 (colour)
3287 A colour image of March Stone 1. It is set in carriageway, near the kerb at 79 Hardgate. It is marked "1 ABD".
It was described in 1525 as "ane gret grey stane, with ane sawssir..." It was still marked with a saucer in 1698 but a new stone marked ABD was in place by the late 18th century.
A slide of this image was kindly lent to Aberdeen City Libraries by Colin Johnston so that we could create a digital copy for public use.
The image was taken in the early 1980s when Colin worked as a teacher at Bridge of Don Academy. He led several current and former pupils, and staff members in an investigation into the location, physical condition and public knowledge of Aberdeen's historic boundary markers. Aberdeen Theatres: Sweet Red Riding Hood
3357 By selecting Red Riding Hood for the opening pantomime, the director of His Majesty Theatre, Mr Robert Arthur, made a happy hit as the traditional children's story attracted many people, young and old.
As a pantomime, the story of Little Red Riding Hood got somewhat lost in the musical and operatic melange but the performance was well applauded by both the public and the press. The pantomime, written by Frank Dix and composed by Jullien H. Wilson, was divided into two acts - the first in four scenes and the second in five. This "Book of Words" programme contains the script, photographs of the actors and some local adverts.
For the first two nights of the pantomime, bookings were reserved for debenture and preference shareholders only, of which there were a considerable number, as nearly all the money for the new building had been raised locally.
The pantomime, which ran till the end of the year, was greeted with whole-hearted applause from start to finish. Aberdeen Theatres: The New Pavilion
3380 A poster from 1931 for The New Pavilion at Aberdeen beach. The poster lists many of the acts performing as part of Harry Gordon's Entertainments and gives a start date of 29th June. The box office for the theatre is given as Paterson, Sons, & Marr Wood, 183 Union Street.
In 1908 a young Harry Gordon won a talent competition at the Pavilion and so began his association with the theatre. He entertained visitors at the Beach Pavilion throughout the 1920s and 30s with his stories about the imaginary village of Inversnecky and songs such as "The Auldest Aiberdonian", "Hilly's Man" and "The Rodin Tree".
The Pavilion was closed during the Second World War, though reopened in 1946. Harry Gordon had given up his tenancy by this point. In the 1950s it was advertised as "the city's variety house by the golden sands presenting a bright and breezy variety show with well-known Radio and TV stars".
Resident comedians included Dave Willis and George Lacey and there were occasional appearances by future stars such as Julie Andrews. Plays were performed and films shown throughout the summer months.
In 1962 the Pavilion was re-named the Gaiety and became a licensed restaurant, public bar and lounge. It functioned as a restaurant in the Queens Links leisure complex until the remnants of the original building were destroyed by fire in 2014. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regal / ABC / Cannon
3397 A photograph of the Union Street entrance to the ABC Cinema in around 1963. The canopy above the entrance advertises It Happened at the World's Fair with Elvis Presley and Joan O'Brien. This was an MGM film and the ABC had first rights to films from this company, a big draw for the public.
Prior to ABC's arrival in Aberdeen in 1954, MGM films were previously first shown in Aberdeen Picture Palace's Capitol on Union Street.
This cinema on Shiprow and Union Street had been known as the Regal since opening in 1954. In March 1962 ABC rationalised the names of its cinemas and this venue, along with many Regals around the UK, became known simply as the ABC. An earlier Regal vertical sign was replaced by the new one we can see in this photograph.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3404 Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson explains that by 1950 the Picture House was owned by the Rank Organisation. The British entertainment conglomerate had acquired various cinema exhibition companies: British-Gaumont, Odeon, and the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (successor company to Associated Provincial Picture Houses). As part of business rationalisation, on 22nd March 1950 the Picture House was rebranded as The Gaumont.
Thomson's Silver Screen indicates that the Gaumont's vertical neon sign dates from the time of the rebranding. In 1956 the design of the cinema was further updated. This saw the introduction of the illuminated canopy and use of the beech design shown here in the redeveloped interior and exterior, replacing the pillars of the Picture House era. A new marble backed fireplace replaced the old one that had been a well-known feature of the cinema since its opening in 1914. The projection equipment and seating were also modernised. This night-time image from the Aberdeen Journals Archive accompanied an article about the Gaumont's new look in the Evening Express of 19th April 1956.
The image shows promotion for a number of films on the cinema's updated exterior: The Rose Tattoo with Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani, Flight from Vienna and Aberdeen Photographic Service's presentation of A Photographic Review of the Royal Tour of Nigeria.
The manager at the time of the Gaumont's redesign was Mr. R. E. Miller. He had managed the cinema since January 1948. In early 1951 Miller converted the upstairs restaurant area, which had laid empty since 1928, into a gallery space. Known as the Gaumont Gallery, it was ideal for photographic exhibitions and was in frequent use well into the 1960s.
Thomson states that during this period Mary Garden, the retired opera singer who returned to Aberdeen in 1939, was something of a regular at the Gaumont. This well-known and much-loved figure would be escorted to her seat by the cinema's commissionaire George Repper, who was also a popular and familiar figure. Repper worked at the Gaumont from 1940 to 1964 and his job was to shepherd queues, attend to patrons and ensure all progressed smoothly.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Star Picture Palace
3409 A photograph of the Star Picture Palace at the junction of Park Street and South Constitution Street in the 1920s. The cinema was an undertaking of Bert Hedgley Gates in partnership with his wife Nellie and with financial backing from local businessmen. Bert Gates was among Aberdeen's most influential cinema proprietors. He would go on to be the founding managing director of Aberdeen Picture Palaces, a highly successful company that would play a key role in cinema exhibition in the city.
The ever useful Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson details much of the history of the Star Picture Palace, known as The Star or Starrie, and the activities of Bert Gates. The cinema was converted from the former premises of the Aberdeen East End Mission. Its name was thought to come from a red-stained glass window in the shape of a star that was a legacy of its previous use. The Star's auditorium stood on the south side of South Constitution Street and its entrance, as shown here, was at 23 Park Street, underneath a block of tenements.
The cinema opened in March 1911 and showed a mixture of films and music. Bert and Nellie would stand behind the screen and add dialogue, sound effects and commentary to the silent films being shown. They also added topical references and allusions to well-known local figures. Both had backgrounds as stage artistes and their performances became a popular feature of the Star.
In 1913 the successful cinema was expanded, doubling its capacity, as Aberdeen Picture Palaces acquired the building and some houses to its rear. Thomson states that the remodelled Star was advertised as "Absolutely the Finest and Most Handsome Interior Out of Glasgow".
The Star had direct competition when the Casino cinema opened just around the corner on the north side of Wales Street on 7th February 1916. Thomson suggests that Gates responded to the Casino's popular and innovative cine-variety performances by programming his own varieties and mini revues. These included Miss Madge Belmont, "America's Handcuff Queen" and Birteno's Golden Grotto, "the most gorgeous electrical dance spectacle ever seen in Aberdeen - a display of serpentine and fire dancing by Belle Lumière, with marvellous kaleidoscopic colour effects".
The Star Picture Palace showed its first talkie, King of the Khyber Rifles, on 13th October 1930. In November 1932 the cinema suffered a fire caused by a dropped cigarette. The damage was relatively minor however and only put the Star out of action for a fortnight.
By the beginning of the second world war, the area around the Star was becoming depopulated as housing on Hanover Street and Albion Street was demolished to make way for the new Beach Boulevard. Bert Gates acquired control of the Casino in November 1939 with the idea of combining it with the Star to create one super-cinema that fronted onto the new thoroughfare.
Thomson explains that business was concentrated on the Casino and later that month the Star closed as a cinema for good. In 1939/40 it served as an indoor fun-fair and as the Boulevard Ballroom for the remainder of the war. The Star building was demolished, at the same time as the Casino, in 1971 to make way for a housing development.
Michael Thomson addresses the use of jam-jars for cinema admission in the first appendix to Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988). This includes an account of the Star Picture Palace from Ethel Kilgour who remembered going there as a child. Her description concludes as follows: "It was a great little cinema, jam-jar entry fee and all, and it was a form of escapism for so many children in a world so depressed between the wars".
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] 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: 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. |