Women crossing Sauchiehall Street at the Regal Cinema, 1958.
The Regal was the Glasgow flagship of John Maxwell's Associated British Cinemas. It was built on the site of the Waldorf Palais dance hall in Sauchiehall Street, which had been the home of Hengler's Circus 1904-1927. It opened in 1929 with the hit film The Singing Fool, starring Al Jolson.
Architect Charles McNair designed a cinema incorporating all the latest and most luxurious fixtures and fittings, with a capacity of 2,359 patrons. The cinema was refurbished in 1955 and first-run films ensured its continuing popularity. Scotland's first post-war new cinema, the ABC-2, was opened next door in 1967 when the Regal was renamed ABC-1.
In 1979, the two cinemas were rebuilt as the five-screen ABC Film Centre. It became the Cannon in 1986, and then MGM Cinemas following a fire in 1992. The complex had reverted to the name ABC Film Centre by the time of its closure in 1999.
Reference: Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
ABC, ABC Film Centre, Associated British Cinemas, Cannon, cinemas, fires, Hengler's Circus, MGM Cinemas, Regal, The Singing Fool, Waldorf Palais, women
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