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____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Olympia Theatre of Varieties, Bridgeton Cross, Glasgow
Above - The Olympia Theatre of Varieties, Glasgow with the jugler Walter Belloni on the Bill - Courtesy Graeme Smith
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Situated on the corner of Orr Street at Bridgeton Cross the Olympia Theatre of Varieties opened in 1911 in an impressive red sandstoned building designed by architect John Arthur, with its auditorium designed by Frank Matcham in the 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 the Theatre changed to cine-variety and then to a full time Cinema from 1924. Matcham's original auditorium dissapeared when a modern auditorium was installed by ABC in 1934. There are some photos of the remains of the ABC auditorium here. A regular visitor to the website, Donna Robertson, has sent in the following highlight of one of her visits to the Olympia in the 1950s, Donna says 'In 1958 on a Wednesday night I was in an almost empty Olympia in the stalls watching Ice Cold in Alex with John Mills and Sylvia Syms, but at the break before the big film began the interval seemed to go on forever, and the lights stayed up, next thing, rustling at the back, and two men in tuxedos marched down the sloping aisle. We all looked round to see this vision - Sylvia Syms dressed in a long ivory ball gown with a matching stole was coming down the aisle smiling and looking like an angel. It seems she had been on her way to the Cadora, an old plush restaurant in the heart of Glasgow, and saw or found out about the film being shown in Bridgeton, where she made her surprise appearance. Ill never forget it, she got up on the stage and talked about her new hubby and her life filming with John Mills, she was really lovely, and for a star like her to talk to a theatre only a third or quarter full was marvellous to a wee girl as I was back then, it made me night. I can neither find details or photos about this visit sadly.' - Donna Roberston 2011. Right - The Olympia Theatre looking very sorry for itself in 2010, still sporting a sign saying 'Full House Furnishings' - Courtesy Donna Robertson. In June 2011 a major restructuring of the site which includes the Olympia Theatre and Cinema was begun by Clyde Gateway as part of their regeneration project for Bridgeton. The Theatre itself is being almost completely demolished, ironically on its hundredth anniversary, but the exterior facade at least will remain. Behind the familiar landmark a proposed £10 million will be spent on the 18 month scheme which will house a public library and cafe on the ground floor with archives on local history, music hall and cinema history, and sport history, centred on Glasgow. On the first floor will be a high performance centre and the headquarters for the National Governing Body for Amateur Boxing. And on the second and third floors will be 10,000 sq ft of commercial lettable office space.
Above - The Olympia Theatre and surrounding area being prepared for regeneration in 2009 - Courtesy Donna Robertson. |
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Right - The auditorium of the Olympia Theatre, Glasgow just prior to its demolition in June 2011 - With kind permission The Glasga Keelies Website The restructuring of the Olympia Theatre and its conversion into the above mentioned scheme is expected to be completed by November 2012. |
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Above - The Olympia Theatre being prepared for demolition in June 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson.
Above - Demolition of the interior of the Olympia Theatre begins in June 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson.
Above - Demolition of the interior of the Olympia Theatre's auditorium in June 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson.
Above - Demolition of parts of the Olympia Theatre and shoring up of the exterior walls in June 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson.
Above - The Dome of the Olympia Theatre, Glasgow being removed for restoration in June 2011 - With kind permission The Glasga Keelies Website
Above - The Dome of the Olympia Theatre, Glasgow being removed for restoration in June 2011 - With kind permission The Glasga Keelies Website
Above - The Dome of the Olympia Theatre, Glasgow being removed for restoration in June 2011 - With kind permission The Glasga Keelies Website
Above - The Dome of the Olympia Theatre, Glasgow being removed for restoration in June 2011 - With kind permission The Glasga Keelies Website
Above - The Dome of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre removed from the building for temporary storage before its eventual restoration and reinstatement - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The Dome of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre removed from the building for temporary storage before its eventual restoration and reinstatement - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The remains of the auditorium of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre during demolition in July 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The remains of the auditorium of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre during demolition in July 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - Shoring up of the exterior walls of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre in July 2011 - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The remains of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre in July 2011 with a hoarding displaying the building's future use - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The remains of the Glasgow Olympia Theatre in July 2011 with a hoarding displaying the building's future use - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The Glasgow Olympia Theatre during redevelopment of the building in February 2012 - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The Glasgow Olympia Theatre during redevelopment of the building in February 2012 - Courtesy Donna Robertson
Above - The Glasgow Olympia Theatre during redevelopment of the building in February 2012 - Courtesy Donna Robertson |
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A programme of the Olympia Theatre can be seen on the excellent Glasgow Story Website here. There are some photos of the remains of the ABC auditorium here. Some of the above information was kindly sent in by Graeme Smith, whose book 'THE THEATRE ROYAL: Entertaining a Nation', is detailed here. |
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In
latter years the Olympia became a bingo hall, and after that the Theatre
was used as a furniture shop until 1993 when it was abandoned altogether.
Despite the Theatre being a Category B Listed building, it stood derelict
for the next 18 years. The Theatre was also badly damaged by fire in
2004 and from then on its future looked very bleak indeed.
Funding
of the scheme was achieved from various sources including Clyde Gateway,
The Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, Glasgow City Council’s
Better Glasgow Fund, Scottish Government’s Town Centre Regeneration
Fund, sportscotland, the Glasgow Trades House and the Hugh Fraser Foundation.
