I love a trip to the cinema.  The smell of the popcorn, the trailers before the film starts and the dimming of the lights as the main feature begins.  My favourite cinema to visit is the Dominion Cinema in Edniburgh.  I was recently there to see the new Avengers: Age of Ulton movie, I do love a superhero film, and decided to write a post on this historic and treasured building.

Erin Walter, Exhibition Intern at Glasgow City Heritage Trust, has recently put together a fabulous exhibition on the lost cinemas of Glasgow, and the exhibition and accompanying booklet are well worth a look.  For more details please got to the GCHT website, links below.

The Dominion Cinema sits in a residential street on Newbattle Terrace, with it’s Art Deco exterior and interior it looks fabulously glamorous and modern.  There are neon lights, and some beautiful stained glass surrounds the entrance.  The interior is as mirror laden and as violently red as you could ever want it to be.   The seats in the screens have been given a luxury make-over, and now consist of black leather sofas, complete with footstools, to make sure patrons are super comfy, something I found very useful when watching the bottom-numbingly long Hobbit films…  It has four screens in total and one can even book a whole screen for very expensive parties.

The building was designed by architect and Edinburgh native Thomas Bowhill Gibson (1895-1949), who was responsible for numerous houses and businesses around Edinburgh, but I think it’s fair to say, none quite as fun as the Dominion in style and scale.  The cinema opened in January of 1938 and has continued to prosper over the years, adding screens as its popularity rose.  The building itself was awarded B-listed status in 1993 and I can attest that it is still going strong and is well worth a visit.  The prices are similar to what you would pay anywhere else these days, around £8-9 a ticket and the good news is it sells (expensive) alcoholic beverages! I will continue to frequent this Art Deco gem for years to come!

Rachael

The fab Scottish Cinemas Website: http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/

The Dominion Cinema Website: http://www.dominioncinemas.net/

The Lost Cinemas of Glasgow Exhibition: http://glasgowheritage.org.uk/events/current-exhibition/