ScottishCinemas.org

Another fantastic in depth cinema article from @threadinburgh.scot - this time about the State Supercinema (and later Prize Bing hall) in Leith. threadinburgh.scot/2026/10/19/t...

Jack Poole and family were real pioneers; they brought a cinématograph to Edinburgh as early as 1898. In 1921 he introduced live sound effects into silent pictures: literally bringing part of the house down on one occasion. He was one of the very first to appreciate the potential of sound-on-film 📽️

There was much media excitement last week over a well-substantiated claim that a Scottish film - shown in an Edinburgh picture house - was the world's first "Talkie", a year before… https://threadinburgh.scot/2026/10/12/pooles-synod-the-thread-about-edinburghs-pioneering-cinematic-hall-of-horror/

25 years after we started online, have a look at our new look modern website! Now with maps, images, better search & mobile friendly. Still lots of ulpdate & fixes to do, but it’s now a lot easier to for us to update things than before, let us know what’s wrong/missing! scottishcinemas.org

This talk for Doors Open Days is now sold out!

Having to wear hard hats today while we gave a @ScottishCinemas.org talk was a first for us! Little did we know after our first visit to photograph the Broadway Prestwick in 2005 that we’d be back more than 20 years later to see real film projected on its big screen once again! Go visit!

Sad news for the Cat B listed former King’s Theatre/ABC Cinema in Kirkcaldy. “£1.5million funding to start demolition of Kirkcaldy’s ABC Cinema” www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/politic...

For Doors Open Days join us taking a virtual stroll up Sauchiehall Street for an updated talk on Glasgow’s cinema building history! Join Gordon Barr & Gary Painter Live (in front of) the big screen GFT, 12 Rose Street, G3 6RB Sat 19 Sept @ 10am
Book free tickets: tinyurl.com/SauchieCinemas

Camels, Monkeys & Prancing Deer: A talk on Scotland’s Exotic Cinema Building History! Live (in front of) the big screen at The Broadway Cinema, 80 Main St, Prestwick KA9 1PA Sat 29 August @ 12.30pm Tickets £10 All proceeds go towards the Broadway restoration fund. tinyurl.com/PrestwickTalk

Happy 80th birthday to Glasgow-born screenwriter/film director, Bill Forsyth. Here he is, making a hand impression in wet cement, outside the city's Grosvenor Cinema. Pic: Daily Record

The Art Deco former Odeon Cinema on Renfield Street in Glasgow. Designed by Verity and Beverley, it opened in 1934 as the Paramount with a seating capacity of 2,800. #glasgow #architecture #architecturephotography #cinema #artdeco

We are delighted that planning permission for The Belmont Cinema has been formally approved by Aberdeen City Council 🧡 More information here: belmontcinema.co.uk/latest/plann...

The La Scala and the Classic were different guises of the same cinema. A remarkable survivor, a recent planning application for this long-vacant building… https://threadinburgh.scot/2026/07/06/the-sally-army-the-scabby-lala-and-x-rated-in-the-city-the-thread-about-the-la-scala-electric-theatre/

Tonight!* A Special Presentation - For One Night Only! Glasgow’s Cinema Experiment! A @westfest.bsky.social illustrated heritage lecture about the history of cinema buildings including Glasgow’s Wonder Cinema! Kelvin Hall, 7pm, Free & unticketed *if you’re seeing this on Weds 24th

I want ‘U’ in to hear about Glasgow’s Cinema Experiment in a newly updated, fully illustrated @scottishcinemas.org heritage talk - part of this year’s @westfest.bsky.social Heritage Talks - at the Kelvin Hall Lecture Theatre on Weds 24th June at 7pm. Free & Unticketed! westfest.uk/event/herita...

Glasgow folks! Come see me giving a brand new (*) heritage lecture on Glasgow’s Cinema Experiment at 7pm on 24th June at the Kelvin Hall - absolutely free and unticketed as part of WestFest 2026. (*) Contains approximately 7% new material compared to previous talks. westfest.uk/event/herita...

Bruce Peter gave a talk on Art Deco Cinemas this evening as a precursor the silent film festival Hippfest which takes place at the Bo'ness Hippodrome next month - if you didn't catch it live, it's available to watch anytime on YouTube here: youtu.be/-K1cziQ_Fj8

#childhoodcinema The Odeon, Clerk Street, Edinburgh, then and now.

What was your #childhoodcinema Odeon, Aberdeen (mainly).

What was your #childhoodcinema ABC, Dundee

Elgin Playhouse. Many an 80s classic in here (ET, Ghostbusters, Rambo) and bizarrely, due to a lack of any babysitter, the Life of Brian (try understanding that when you’re 7). The picture is how I remember it.

Glasgow Odeon on Renfield St. First picture house I ever went to. Saw first three Star Wars movies here (ROTJ on release day straight after school), Superman 1 and 2, and Ghostbusters too. The stuff of childhood myth making. #ChildhoodCinema

The Odeon on Clerk Street Edinburgh is where I saw Star Wars. Because I was only 5 and small it felt like it held roughly a million people. #childhoodcinema

Ayr Odeon You can see on the right there is an emergency exit door on the metal stairs that we would get the one person that we’d clubbed together to get a ticket to open so we could all sneak in for free #childhoodcinema

Upcoming @scottishcinemas.org Talk! Me & Gary Painter are giving our illustrated double-act talk about Glasgow cinema - both the old buildings & the city itself on screen - for @glasgowheritage.bsky.social on Feb 25. Unfortunately sold out already but let them know if any demand for an encore!

Great to be in London yesterday at the Cinema Museum giving a @scottishcinemas.org update for the AGM of @CTheatreAssoc - the core of the collection there is from Aberdeen so lots of Scottish cinema artefacts on display!

This might be the absolute greatest reply we have ever received. Thank you, Cookie Monster 📕🍪💙

APPEAL: The Govan Stones needs more volunteers for our 2025 Season, which is shaping up to be our biggest and busiest since AD 900! If you want to try your hand at pretty much anything we do at the museum, from working in the shop to tours, just email us at: 📨 info@thegovanstones.org.uk

Meanwhile in Dumfries, the former Regal/Odeon (most recently a single screen in the former balcony area, with a bingo hall in the former stalls) is rumoured to be reopening with an advert appearing for a cinema manager… www.linkedin.com/company/tlc-...

Interesting to pass the long closed former New Victoria / Odeon on Clerk St in Edinburgh, with the hoarding door ajar it gives a peek into the foyer… it would be nice to see this place come back to life, so hopefully a sign long delayed works are moving forward again…?

It seems plans are finally afoot to re-open the former Lyceum Cinema on Govan Road in Glasgow. Designed by McNair and Elder in a stunning Streamlined Moderne style, it was built in 1938. Cont./ #glasgow #govan #artdeco #architecture #artdecoarchitecture #lyceum #lyceumhub #cinema #glasgowcinema

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotos_by_findlay/53551403259 Former Odeon/Paramount Cinema, Renfield Street, Glasgow #Glasgow #Cinema #Odeon #Paramount #Photography #Flickr #DeadCinema #OfficeDevelopment

The Odeon Cinema on Renfield St, 1955. It was designed by Verity & Beverly for the Paramount Corporation and opened on 31 Dec 1934. Lavishly decorated, it could accommodate 2,800, and it attracted the largest audiences for a Paramount cinema outside the USA. 📷 Glasgow Museums #glasgow

Thank you for the serotonin boost. I'm suddenly remembering a 7 year old me going to see Return of the Jedi with my older brother at the old Odeon cinema in Hamilton, Scotland (sadly demolished for a carpark back in 1999).

There are many fine podcasts about films but very few about cinemas themselves. How to (Re)Open a Cinema is about the ongoing community efforts to resurrect a derelict "supercinema" in Prestwick, Scotland. Find it where you get your podcasts or shows.acast.com/how-to-reopen-a-cinema

Lightspeed tour through the (often fiery) history & design of Scottish & #Glasgow ~ with a Southside emphasis ~ #cinemas this evening hosted by #PollokshieldsHeritage from Gary Painter @scottishcinemas.org after great feature in the papers on Sunday (which we ofc bought📰📽️🤓) bsky.app/profile/scot...

As well as a huge swathe of central #Glasgow Southside cinemas ~ #ArtDeco, earlier & later styles ~ @scottishcinemas.org gave a much longer look back at ABC / Regal on Sauchiehall St, demolition finishing this week 😢 #RetrofitFirst www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/glasgow/abcr... bsky.app/profile/bric...

A new discovery from @scottishcinemas.org talk tonight was the Florida on Ardmay Crescent, King's Park #Glasgow Southside, possibly one for our #ArtDecoSouthsideAlive! guidebook... opened 1931 demolished 1961. See 📷on their website👉 www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/glasgow/incl... bsky.app/profile/sghe...

Hello there, Aberdeen 👋 Please help others in our Belmont Community to find us by sharing this post and encouraging them to follow us at @belmontcinema.bsky.social 🧡

The original New Bedford cinema in Eglinton Street, Glasgow, photographed in 1924. The building had been erected as Eglinton Street United Secession Church in 1825 and was converted to a cinema in 1921. It was burned to the ground in 1932. Pic: Glasgow City Archives.