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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. Aberdeen Theatres: His Majesty's Theatre
3356 Seating more than 1400, His Majesty's Theatre is the largest theatre in North-East Scotland and is now a category A listed building.
Situated on Rosemount Viaduct, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham and costed £35,000. It was originally built as a replacement for the former Her Majesty's Theatre (now the Tivoli), meeting the need for a larger venue and better staging facilities.
Robert Arthur, the theatre impresario, submitted the plans for the new theatre in 1901. Construction started in 1904 and it opened on the 3rd December 1906 with a production of the pantomime Little Red Riding Hood, of which you will see the programme next in this exhibition. The pantomime played to a full house on its opening night and ran until the end of the year to great success.
Arthur's company presented plays, opera and pantomimes until 1912, when it ran out of funds. Robert Arthur Theatres Ltd. sold the theatre in 1923 to Walter Gilbert, managing director of the Tivoli Theatre. It changed hands again in 1932, after Gilbert's death, when it was bought by Councillor James F. Donald. The new owner refurbished the venue and introduced new features such as a revolving stage and a cinema projector.
In 1975, Aberdeen City council bought the venue, then allocated £3.5 million to give it a new life. After being closed for 23 months, His Majesty's Theatre was reopened on the 17th of September 1982 by Prince Charles.
In 2004, the theatre was once again closed for refurbishment. It reopened in 2005, renovated and modernised with a new green room, a coffee shop and re-upholstered seating. 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: Astoria
3430 An Aberdeen Journals Archive photograph of the Astoria in around 1943. This super-cinema in Kittybrewster was opened in 1934 and was located at the end of Powis Terrace, at the start of Clifton Road and at its junction with Great Northern Road. This photograph looks towards Clifton Road from this location.
The film being shown at the time is Air Force with John Garfield. The premises of Birrell, confectioners, and George A. Davidson, provision merchant, can also be seen in the image.
Michael Thomson in Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) tells the story of the cinema. The Astoria was primarily the brainchild of Bert Darley who had quit Poole's, proprietors of the Palace and Regent, and started up a new company called the Aberdeen Astoria Cinema Ltd. with various local businessmen and financial backers.
The giant cinema, designed by Thomas Scott Sutherland, was intended to serve the growing population of Kittybrewster, Powis, Woodside and Hilton. Construction on the £45,000 building proceeded quickly and it was opened on 8th December 1934 with screenings of a film called I Give My Love.
Thomson states that the Astoria's emphasis was on "spaciousness, relying upon simplicity of form to create a pleasing impression of clean-lined functionality." The space of the site allowed Scott Sutherland to enlarge on ideas first used at the Regent. The concept was again a tall central section, incorporating three main windows, with smaller side portions on either side.
The Astoria, along with the Capitol, was one of only two Aberdeen cinemas with a theatre organ. Both were equipped with top-of-the-line Compton organs at the time of their opening.
In March 1936 James F. Donald (Aberdeen Cinemas) Ltd. acquired a controlling share interest in the Aberdeen Astoria Cinema company. Richard Donald replaced Bert Darley as the manager at the Kittybrewster venue.
The programmes of the Astoria and the Kingsway on King Street were regularly linked, both being Donald cinemas. In the 1950s they showed Cinemascope films such as King of the Khyber Rifles and Beneath the Ten Mile Reef.
The cinema's last film was The Moving Target, with Paul Newman and Lauren Becall, shown on 13th August 1966. On the 29th of that month the venue reopened as a bingo hall. This was at the height of the game's popularity, however not even it could save the Astoria. At the end of the year the Donalds the site for redevelopment as a shopping complex. Demolition on the cinema was begun in April 1967.
Michael Thomson explains that all removable fittings and materials were salvaged. Additionally, the Compton organ was transferred to the school hall of Powis Academy. It served the school well for many years before unfortunately being destroyed in a fire during the night of 20th November 1982.
[Information primarily sourced from Silver Screen in the Silver City (1988) by Michael Thomson]
Image © Aberdeen Journals Ltd. |