Vogue Cinema
Lanark’s Regal Cinema was built opposite the railway station, in the eastern half of the ancient Royal Burgh, on the site of an existing garage. It opened on the last day of August, 1936, with the films Manhattan Monkey Business and The Bohemian Girl, the latter starring Laurel and Hardy. The opening ceremony was performed by Lord Dunglass, a title held at the time by Alec Douglas-Home, who would later briefly serve as British Prime Minister from 1964-65. The original manager, George Lee, stayed in the post until 1961. Despite the inevitable takeover by bingo in the 1970s, the Vogue, as it was then known, retained its rather elderly projection equipment, and still showed occasional films right up until the late 1980s. The last film is said to have been Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1987, and this is borne out by the fact that much of the decaying print still sits in a jumbled pile on the projection booth floor – perhaps evidence of the antiquity of the (still in situ) projection equipment by that stage! The alterations for bingo were minor, with the front stalls seating being replaced with tables, and a new office and sales kiosk erected in the rear stalls. The building closed in 2009.
Lanark Cinemas - Regal / Vogue
Loads more information and pictures taken during the bingo occupation of the premises. You can why I was intrigued upon seeing this.
Apologies for the absence. Reports and activity had to take a bit of a break due to Uni work and other stuff, but trespass has continued in the meantime. Pretty simple story for this one to be honest, saw @Exploring with Andy 's sharing of a Glaswegian Vogue Cinema in the Cinema List thread, and whilst taking a closer look, this one cropped up as well as another one or two. Looking back now at the thread, it was in the list anyway, but it would be too easy to go through them all, right? Anyway, out of the other Vogue's, this one looked really interesting, especially with the 2009 closure and the fact that it still seemed unscathed, with a large section for foyers and bars, similar to Longford Essoldo. Driving past, you would hardly notice the theatre with the main hall concealed behind a mixture of town centre business centres and stores. The inside was really special as it was entirely what we expected - the only downside being the seats had been stripped out or it would have been just perfect. Visited with @DustySensorPhotography , @jtza and Alex .
External on the night.
Starting off in by the street-side entrance door.
Nice chandelier thing above the main staircase.
Bar and ticket office. Pretty much everything is left, including inside the staff offices and cupboards.
Curved corridor running around the auditorium.
Auditorium, classic colours but the old features retained. With all the bingo stuff still in place, but heavy decay, it's a very nice scene.
No seats!
Upper bar in quite a ruined state. There was an old chunk from a projector on the ground by the stairs up to the balcony, but I didn't get a shot.
Ground floor.
Projector room. It was great to see them still here, especially since they're supposed to be some of the oldest projectors that have survived in Scotland. Now, I did have information to cite here, but I can't find it, so maybe it was a lucid dream. Count the pigeons by the way, most of them stayed good boys still for the pictures, whilst others shuffled about in panic.
That's all! More reports coming in due time.
Thanks for reading
Lanark’s Regal Cinema was built opposite the railway station, in the eastern half of the ancient Royal Burgh, on the site of an existing garage. It opened on the last day of August, 1936, with the films Manhattan Monkey Business and The Bohemian Girl, the latter starring Laurel and Hardy. The opening ceremony was performed by Lord Dunglass, a title held at the time by Alec Douglas-Home, who would later briefly serve as British Prime Minister from 1964-65. The original manager, George Lee, stayed in the post until 1961. Despite the inevitable takeover by bingo in the 1970s, the Vogue, as it was then known, retained its rather elderly projection equipment, and still showed occasional films right up until the late 1980s. The last film is said to have been Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1987, and this is borne out by the fact that much of the decaying print still sits in a jumbled pile on the projection booth floor – perhaps evidence of the antiquity of the (still in situ) projection equipment by that stage! The alterations for bingo were minor, with the front stalls seating being replaced with tables, and a new office and sales kiosk erected in the rear stalls. The building closed in 2009.
Lanark Cinemas - Regal / Vogue
Loads more information and pictures taken during the bingo occupation of the premises. You can why I was intrigued upon seeing this.
Apologies for the absence. Reports and activity had to take a bit of a break due to Uni work and other stuff, but trespass has continued in the meantime. Pretty simple story for this one to be honest, saw @Exploring with Andy 's sharing of a Glaswegian Vogue Cinema in the Cinema List thread, and whilst taking a closer look, this one cropped up as well as another one or two. Looking back now at the thread, it was in the list anyway, but it would be too easy to go through them all, right? Anyway, out of the other Vogue's, this one looked really interesting, especially with the 2009 closure and the fact that it still seemed unscathed, with a large section for foyers and bars, similar to Longford Essoldo. Driving past, you would hardly notice the theatre with the main hall concealed behind a mixture of town centre business centres and stores. The inside was really special as it was entirely what we expected - the only downside being the seats had been stripped out or it would have been just perfect. Visited with @DustySensorPhotography , @jtza and Alex .
External on the night.
Starting off in by the street-side entrance door.
Nice chandelier thing above the main staircase.
Bar and ticket office. Pretty much everything is left, including inside the staff offices and cupboards.
Curved corridor running around the auditorium.
Auditorium, classic colours but the old features retained. With all the bingo stuff still in place, but heavy decay, it's a very nice scene.
No seats!
Upper bar in quite a ruined state. There was an old chunk from a projector on the ground by the stairs up to the balcony, but I didn't get a shot.
Ground floor.
Projector room. It was great to see them still here, especially since they're supposed to be some of the oldest projectors that have survived in Scotland. Now, I did have information to cite here, but I can't find it, so maybe it was a lucid dream. Count the pigeons by the way, most of them stayed good boys still for the pictures, whilst others shuffled about in panic.
That's all! More reports coming in due time.
Thanks for reading
