|
|
|
|
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Olympia Theatre of Varieties, Bridgeton Cross, Glasgow
Above - The Olympia Theatre of Varieties, Glasgow - Courtesy Graeme Smith
|
||
|
Situated on the corner of Orr Street at Bridgeton Cross the Olympia Theatre of Varieties opened on 1911 in an impressive red sandstoned building designed by architect John Arthur, with its auditorium designed by Frank Matcham in French Renaissance style. There were two tiers of gallery and marble balustrades and the lush plasterwork which Matcham employed. It had a sliding roof to let air in and smoke out. After the Great War it changed to cine-variety and to a full cinema from 1924. A modern auditorium was installed by ABC in 1934, and in latter years it became a bingo hall. A programme of the Olympia Theatre can be seen on the excellent Glasgow Story Website here. The above text was written and kindly sent in for inclusion on the site by Graeme Smith, whose new book 'THE THEATRE ROYAL: Entertaining a Nation', is detailed here. The Theatre has now been taken over by the Clyde Gateway as part of their regeneration project for Bridgeton and proposals to convert it into a restaurant and for public use and offices are under way. |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
