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Woolmanhill looking towards Schoolhill
148 Photograph of Woolmanhill taken 1907, looking towards Schoolhill. This image is thought to show the house where Joseph Robertson (1810-1866), the journalist and historian, was born.
For more information on Robertson see the entry about him in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (available online with an active library membership) and an obituary for him can be found in the Aberdeen Journal of 19th December 1866, page 6.
Roberston was mostly likely born at 73 Woolmanhill. He and his family certainly appear to have lived at this address for some time. Robertson is listed at this number in the Aberdeen Directory 1833-34 (D. Chalmers & Co.), page 116. Additionally, a death notice for Robertson's mother, Christian Leslie, features in the Aberdeen Journal of 23rd March 1859, page 5, which gives her address as 73 Woolmanhill.
Exactly which of the shown buildings is Robertson's birthplace, or no. 73, is somewhat unclear. A Press & Journal article on "Historic Woolmanhill" from 6th June 1925, page 5, states "it was in the line of houses that separate Blackfriars Street from Woolmanhill that there was born in 1810 Joseph Robertson, who became the most noted antiquary of his day, the most accomplished that Aberdeen has produced." This would suggest that Robertson's birthplace is one of the buildings on the left.
This image featured in the Evening Express' 'Flashback' feature from 12th January 1985, page 12. The accompany information states "Joseph Robertson, an eminent historian and one time editor of the 'Aberdeen Observer' was born at 37 Woolmanhill - the tall building in the foreground of our picture - in 1810." This slightly vague description could refer to the building on the right of the image or perhaps to the first tall building on the left side of the road. The latter would accord better with other references. Additionally, the buildings on the right were known as Black's Buildings.
The above reference to "37 Woolmanhill" may initially suggest a confusion of 73 Woolmanhill, but the former is not without precedent. In Historical Aberdeen (1905), within an informative chapter on Woolmanhill, G. M. Fraser writes the following on page 149:
"Then hardly less remarkable, either in historical knowledge, or general scholarship, was Dr. Joseph Robertson, whose name appears so frequently in these pages, born in the unpretending house, still standing, No. 37 Woolmanhill. It is strange that in Aberdeen there is no public memorial of this distinguished man."
If 37 Woolmanhill is the correct address, 1950s Ordnance Survey mapping, which includes building numbers, suggests the relevant house may be the one in the centre of this image, of those on left, in the middle distance, just after the building marked as a tea warehouse. Looking towards Rosemount from Skene Street
176 Looking towards Rosemount from Skene Street. Wallfield House can be seen towards the top left of the picture. Gala and Heather Day in the Duthie Park
395 This Adelphi Series postcard shows the Gala Day taking place in Duthie Park on 21st August 1915.
The Gala in Duthie Park and the accompanying Heather Day were both organised to raise funds for the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The Gala Day is one of largest events ever to take place at the park. It was estimated that between 25,000 and 26,000 people attended. Tickets cost 6 pence (6d) for general admission and 2s 6d for carriages or motor cars.
Within the park there was an elaborate programme of entertainment and refreshments organised. Details of the programme were published in a 32 page booklet prior to the event. Upwards of 1,300 people took part in the programme.
Gates to the park opened at 3pm and the event officially commence at 3pm with a grand military parade. Lieut-Colonel A. H. Leith of Glenkindie, Garrison Commander, and Lord Provost James Taggart "took the salute" opposite the Hygiea statue.
The Gala and Heather Day were organised by a distinct committee; Taggart was its president and Alexander Findlay, Superintendent of Cleansing, was its chairman. Councillor H. J. Gray was the secretary and treasurer and Mr John Lints was his assistant. There were also conveners and secretaries for various sub-committees concerned with aspects like entertainment and refreshments.
There was a wide range of entertainment organised for within the park including singing, dancing, gymnastic displays, musical drill, motor cycle gymkhana and bayonet fighting. Various platforms saw performances from acts such as a company lead by D. M. Kinghorn, pierrots directed by Minnie Mearns, Dan Williams, and W. A. Craig's operatic choir. Charles Soutar lead a 500 strong choir of children from the city's public schools.
Practically all naval and military units present in the city were represented at the event and individuals from many of them took part in the sporting competitions. The day also included a 5-a-side football and tug of war competition. Preliminary matches for these took place prior to the day at Pittodrie Park.
The Gala Day was filmed and this was later shown as part of a special programme at the Picture House on Union Street from the 25th of the month.
Over £500 was taken at the gates for the event. Entertainment and refreshments within further increased the figure raised.
Heather Day itself generated another £474. This involved over 1,500 vendors going around all parts of the city selling sprigs of the plant. The sale started on the afternoon of the Friday and continued all through Saturday. Entertainment venues throughout the city were also visited.
The vendors were primarily young women and members of organisations like the boys brigade. Stores present in all areas of the city were replenished from a central depot at 173a Union Street. This in turn was supplied by the cleansing department buildings in Poynernook Road, where the preceding week had seen 200,000 sprigs prepared for sale. Peterhead, Inverurie, Ellon and Banchory organised their own Heather Days for the same fund.
The sum taken from both the Gala and the Heather Day was estimated at considerably over £1,000.
See the report in the Aberdeen Journal, Monday 23rd August 1915 page 8, for further details about the occasion. Provost Skene's House from the South
416 Provost Skene's House from the South. The earliest portion of the house dates back to 1545. The picture gallery c.1626 contains important religious paintings. Union Street
634 Towards the middle of the picture can be seen the distinctive square tower of John Smith's West St. Nicholas Kirk House built 1830-31. This drawing is prior to major developments to the junction with Union Terrace, the street on the left of the image.
Note the absence of The Northern Assurance Building on the corner. The building commonly called "The Monkey House" was built in 1885 by architect A. Marshall Mackenzie.
The building at the junction in this drawing is likely the townhouse of the Lumsden family of Belhevie. This would become the first home of the Northern Club in 1854.
In the centre of the image, on the left after Union Bridge, is the Aberdeen Hotel designed by Archibald Simpson and started in 1817. Aberdeen Steam Laundry, Claremont Street
1148 Ironing room, Aberdeen Steam Laundry, Claremont Street, c.1890. In this busy location, several dozen women were employed in ironing what appears to be mainly large sheets. Long trestle tables have been erected to allow for a greater flow of productivity. All the irons in operation would have been gas irons. Several wicker carrying baskets can also be noted in the picture. The Laundry itself had begun in 1879. In the early 1890s, their wash-house was fitted with steam washers, boilers, rinsing vessels, tubs for handwork and hydro-extractors. Shiprow
1276 Shiprow, looking North to Provost Ross' House, one of only two surviving ancient lodgings in the city. Originally built in 1593, the arcade is early 18th century. Acquired by Aberdeen City Council in the 1950s from ABC Cinemas, by whom it was to have been made into staff accommodation for their adjacent Regal, a plan halted by the outbreak of war in 1939. Now incorporated into Aberdeen Maritime Museum. The Castlegate
1285 The Castlegate, Aberdeen showing the Market Cross in the foreground, prior to the building of the Town House in the 1870's. The square building on the left of the picture is the Athenaeum. Behind the Market Cross is the imposing facade of the North of Scotland Bank designed by Archibald Simpson. Hazlehead Park
1557 The estate of Hazlehead was purchased by the Aberdeen Town Council at a cost of 40,000 pounds. Over 200 acres were originally woodland but part of this now forms a public golf course. The grounds in the vicinity of the mansion house are attractively laid out and, in the season, a wealth of bloom combines with the grassy lawns, well-trimmed walks and stately trees to make a charming picture. 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. Stoneywood Paper Mill Group
1985 A group of people associated with the Stoneywood Paper Mill.
"The man in the centre name is William Ford, who was born in 1855. He was the manager of the counting house at Stoneywood Paper mill and these photos were of him and all the women who worked in the counting house. The photos are taken on the lawn in front of the Stoneywood Mill Canteen.
Incidentally William Ford was also one of the founders of Stoneywood Brass Band and can be seen with his trumpet standing to the left of the bass drum in the picture - he looks like he was in his late twenties".
The above information was provided by Mr Keith AM Ford, March 2016. William Ford was his Great Grandfather. Alexander Ledingham Portrait
2140 This portrait of a woman is also by Alexander Ledingham of Rosemount. The photographer's stamp is present in the bottom right corner. The woman is standing by a chair that can be seen in other Ledingham portraits so this was obviously a recurrent prop. The painted backdrop in this picture suggests the setting of a large estate house.
The subject of the photograph wears a rather serious expression which was the convention in 19th and early 20th century photography. This was a continuation of the tradition of painted portraiture and suggested the stature and respectability of the subject. The great American writer Mark Twain wrote, "A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever." Stillness was also required due to the exposure times of early photography. Duthie Park
2476 A photograph from an Adelphi Series postcard showing a southern portion of Duthie Park.
The image looks east across the park's old Lower Lake towards Arthurseat House.
This lake was expanded, and made more rectangular, in the 1920s. This was undertaken to provide improved facilities for the sailing of model yachts and for skating and curling in winter. From the time of the park's creation, this earlier lake contained two spray fountains at either end. The more easterly of these is shown here.
Arthurseat House dates from before the creation of the park, when the land was owned by Arthur Dingwall Fordyce. The house remained, primarily as a museum, until it was demolished in 1934.
For a detailed account of the park, its history and creation, see the article 'Miss Duthie's Gift: History and Description of the Park' in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1883 (published the day before the park's official opening) and the park's entry in Historic Environment Scotland's Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes - reference number GDL00166.
Also shown in this picture is the park's main rockery, described in the Aberdeen Journal article as follows:
"A most picturesque rockery has been built upon the brow of the rising ground to the west of Arthurseat House, and immediately above the pond we have just been describing. It is very extensive, being upwards of 100 feet in length and 66 feet broad at the widest part, and is composed of different kinds of peculiar stones, broken into all manner of fantastic fragments, which are set-up on end in groups and cone-like eminences. A footway winds through it from end to end; and as the spaces between the stones are occupied by Alpine plants and flowers of various kinds, the whole as viewed from the low ground in front presents a most charming appearance."
181-183 Union Street
2824 The Picture House cinema at 181, Peter Mitchell, tobacconist, at 181B and Paterson, Sons, & Marr Wood, Ltd., music sellers, at 183 Union Street in 1937. Aberdeen Cinemas: Regal / ABC / Cannon
3396 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Shiprow entrance to the Regal cinema in February 1961. The cinema is advertising showings of Saturday Night, Sunday Morning with Albert Finney, Linda with Carol White and Alan Rothwell, and Pathé News.
The Regal was opened on Monday 26th June 1954 by Associated British Cinema (ABC). The opening of this substantial cinema was the conclusion of a long and much delayed enterprise.
This Shiprow site was previously the location of Aberdeen's first permanent cinema, Dove Paterson's Gaiety. It had later become the Palladium and had laid shuttered for close to seven years when the owner put the site up for sale in early 1937.
Bert Gates of Aberdeen Picture Palaces (APP) put in an offer and made plans to build a very large cinema at the location. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) suggests that had this plan gone ahead it would have made the local company a force with which to be reckoned.
Gate's plans were thwarted however when another offer for the property from ABC (Cinemas) was accepted. ABC were a major cinema operator throughout the UK, at the time second only to the Rank Organisation, which owned the Odeon and Gaumont chains. ABC's arrival in Aberdeen would offer stiff competition to local companies such as APP. Both in terms of having the best venues and having the best films to show in them.
ABC's arrival in Aberdeen did not go smoothly, however. It was not until 1939 that the cinema's plans received official approval. War was declared not long after construction had begun and in 1941 the project was stopped by government restrictions that halted the construction of non-essential buildings where roofing had not already been started. Only the outer shell had been built at Shiprow and the building would subsequently lie incomplete for over a decade.
After much campaigning, including by local MP Hector Hughes, the government finally gave its consent and on 28th October 1953 ABC announced that work on the Regal would recommence. The plans for the cinema were modernised and construction was quickly finished.
The completed Regal was an impressive, modern cinema with a seating capacity of 1,914. Its inaugural film was The Knights of the Round Table and the opening gala was attended by stars Richard Todd and Anne Crawford.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. 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: Electric / Capitol
3401 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Capitol cinema at 431 Union Street in February 1980. At this time the Capitol was in more regular use as a concert venue than as a cinema. This image shows large numbers of people queuing to get tickets for a performance by the band Genesis.
The Capitol was built as a cinema back in 1933. A few days before its opening, it was advertised in local papers as "Aberdeen's wonder cinema". Opened to large crowds on Saturday 4th February 1933, the Capitol was then the largest venue of its kind in the north of Scotland and had a stage that could be adapted for both film and variety entertainment.
The Capitol was built by Aberdeen Picture Palaces Ltd. on the site of an earlier upmarket cinema called the Electric Theatre that dated from 1910. When the Capitol opened, it was regarded as the most up-to-date theatre in the country due to its complex lightning system, organ music and other modern features, some of them being introduced for the first time in Scotland.
The venue could accommodate more than 2,000 people. The building's plans were prepared by Aberdeen architects Alexander Marshall MacKenzie and Clement George. Local newspapers stressed the local ownership of the cinema and the local craftsmanship that went into its construction.
Aberdeen City Libraries hold a souvenir brochure of the cinema's opening. One interesting feature of the brochure is the inclusion of specially created adverts for all the companies involved in the construction and furnishing of the new cinema. Some of the adverts provide rich information on the history of the companies and give an insight into how the companies saw themselves. The brochure details the companies behind every aspect of the buildings from the cinema seating and terrazzo work to the innovative lighting.
On the opening day, Mrs A. D. Hay, wife of the chairman of the Aberdeen Picture Palaces, unlocked the main entrance door with a gold key. This key is still held by the Hay family today. The cinema's first, busy evening featured a variety of entertainment. In addition to the showing of films, there was a ballet performance by the Henrietta Fuller Dancers and Mr Edward O' Henry played the theatre's new top of the line Compton organ.
During the opening ceremony, Bert Gates, another director of Aberdeen Picture Palaces, said: "It was a long lane that had no turning. They had built the Capitol not for to-day, but for the generations of Aberdeen people to come. The company had dedicated the Capitol to the people of Aberdeen, their children, and their children's children in the hope that in generations to come they might appreciate what had been given them."
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3403 The Picture House was opened on 14th December 1914 with an inauguration ceremony chaired by Lord Provost James Taggart. It was built at 181 Union Street by the rapidly expanding English firm, Associated Provincial Picture Houses. Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) explains that construction of the cinema was delayed due to the war.
As seen here in 1937, the cinema's entrance was dominated by two squat white marble finish pillars topped by bronze capitals. The atmosphere inside was said to be cosy and luxurious. After conversion, the pre-existing building on Union Street contained the cinema's large foyer and within this was retained a large, original fireplace to warm visitors.
The 900-seater auditorium stood side-on between Union Street and Windmill Brae. With a budget of £12,000, the Picture House was designed by English architects Robert Atkinson and George Alexander. Thomson explains that the architects were inspired along Classical theatre lines and the building featured dark wood walls hung with French tapestries. A large tea-room, called the Tapestry Room, took up the first floor of the Union Street building. Above that, on the top floor, was the manager's office.
Thomson suggests that an early strength of the Picture House was its highly competent orchestra, originally led by pianist W. G. Ross. These were pre-radio days, with recording still in its infancy, so the orchestral playing would have been a significant attraction.
The profits from the Picture House's first screening back in December 1914 were distributed to Aberdeen charities. The first talking picture to be shown at the cinema was The Singing Fool in 1929. The Picture House was an upscale operation and one of the key early venues for cinema exhibition in Aberdeen.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson] Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3405 This image from the collection of the Aberdeen Journals Archive shows the staff of The Gaumont dressed in Tudor costume on the day of the Scottish premiere of the Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn drama, Anne of a Thousand Days.
The national premiere of the Richard Burton and Geneviève Bujold picture took place at the cinema on 25th May 1970. The couple in evening wear are Lord Provost James Lamont and his wife. Along from them, also in evening wear, is the cinema's manager Alex Greig.
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3406 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph showing the exterior of the Gaumont Cinema at 181 Union Street in October 1972. Promotion for Doomwatch, the British science-fiction film, Cabaret, starring Liza Minelli and The Concert for Bangladesh can all be seen.
This image dates from when the Rank Organisation, the cinema's owners, applied to Aberdeen City Council for permission to demolish the venue and redevelop the site for shops and office space.
As detailed in Michael Thomson's book Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) the Rank Organisation had a special department that considered cinema sites they owned that could be profitably redeveloped by the company. Aberdeen was experiencing a pre-oil property boom and the early 1970s saw the closure and redevelopment of a number of cinemas.
The final night of the Gaumont was Saturday 6th October 1973. The last film to be shown as The Lovers with Paula Wilcox and Richard Beckinsale. This photograph was used in the preview of the cinema's final night in the Evening Express of the day before.
The majority of the cinema was demolished not long after. The façade of the upper floors was retained as it was listed as of architectural and historic interest. The site laid empty for some time due to the financial recession of 1974-75 and subsequent uncertainty over its occupancy. In 1976 the site was redeveloped as a Job Centre and shops.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3407 This photograph from across the road shows the Gaumont cinema and its surrounds in September 1973, shortly before it closed down for good.
The cinema appears to have shown more X-rated, European films prior to its closure. This image shows adverts for Hot and Blue (original title: Jeux pour couples infidèles) and Hungry for Sex (Liebesspiele junger Mädchen).
Newspaper listings indicate that the cinema was also showing at this time late night screenings of Scream and Scream Again, an Amicus horror starring Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, and Peter Cushing, and a biker movie called Hell's Angels '69. Aberdeen Cinemas: Picture House / Gaumont
3408 A photograph showing the redeveloped site of the Picture House/Gaumont in January 2021. 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. |