What the Rosevale looks like inside now
So I did this blog with the intention of talking about some of the cinemas in Glasgow, but so far I’ve only talked about the Grosvenor cinema. I was doing some internet-based browsing (as usual) and came across this cinema – Rosevale, on Dumbarton Road. It’s now actually been changed into a charity shop, but apparently if you go around the back you can see some of the place that once held over 2,000 seats. It used to be a back-court style cinema but it was closed years and years ago, in 1965. It has been changed into many different things since then, from bingo hall, snooker club and supermarket. You can read about its full history here if you want to know more.
This is possibly my favourite discovery, purely because I’ve visited there a lot as a club and had no idea it used to be a cinema – the ABC, on Sauchiehall street (I’m sure you’ll be familiar with this too!). I don’t know whether this is common knowledge, so if it is then I apologise for my ignorance and use the fact that I don’t like history and that I am from Edinburgh as an excuse. Anyway, it used to be called the ABC Regal and was one of the first buildings in the city to be fitted with electricity in 1888 – which made it perfect for cinema-going usage. It underwent many different conversions whilst it was a cinema (it was also a dance hall as well) but nowadays is a music venue and of course, club. Click on this link for a more detailed history of it, there are lots of interesting pictures too!
What the ABC used to look like from the outside (1979).
1979 - these stairs still look familar today!
One of the screens that used to exist at the ABC.
It’s really strange how many times I’ve walked past some of these buildings that I’m discovering used to be cinemas. Here’s another one that I found interesting, because I have never really noticed it until it popped up when I was looking for things to write about –
Salon - Past/Present day
It was called Salon and was on Sauchiehall Street as well, just beside what is currently a sports shop. In its day however, you wouldn’t have missed it as it was painted white against the dark backdrop of old city. It was one of Glasgow’s earliest cinemas, where there was a roof-top winter garden (sounds lovely but I bet the weather wasn’t up to much – it still isn’t) and also a tea room. It was only open for about 10 years as it got a bad reputation so it was changed into many different dance halls and clubs – nowadays there are plans for it to be converted into a “boutique hotel” so much of its original structure will be gone. This is the link to the full information about its past.
Of course these are only a few of the cinemas I wanted to mention since I found them interesting. If you want to find out more about cinemas in Glasgow (old and new) then these two sites are great, the Glasgow Film website which tells you of cinemas past and present, and the Scottish Cinemas website which catalogues nearly all of Scotland’s cinemas! Thanks for reading this post, and feel free to comment too if you find any interesting old cinemas.
Sacco Film 