Despite alterations, this is an important building in the history of cinema in Scotland. It was the first true Odeon Theatre built in Scotland, where most of the chain’s cinemas were takeovers, and is now the only one left. Now the Astoria, it continues to contribute to the cultural life in Ayr.
It makes an important contribution to the streetscape of Ayr. It is one of the first buildings visible when exiting Ayr railway station, and its landmark tower provides a focus for Burns Statue Square.
Odeon Cinemas in Scotland
In the 1930s, the Odeon circuit made its name by building a series of modern, well-appointed buildings. Beginning in the south, it gradually expanded nationwide. However, it struggled to gain a foothold in the highly lucrative but extremely cut-throat Scottish cinema market. In sharp contrast, its great rival ABC had begun in Glasgow under the Scottish Cinemas and Variety Theatres (SCVT) name, and had a strong presence and purpose-built halls in most of the main Scottish towns and cities.
Odeon initially tried to expand into Scotland by buying existing older buildings. In September 1936, Odeon purchased ten cinemas from the Glasgow-based Singleton chain, which were then rebranded as Odeons.…
Despite alterations, this is an important building in the history of cinema in Scotland. It was the first true Odeon Theatre built in Scotland, where most of the chain’s cinemas were takeovers, and is now the only one left. Now the Astoria, it continues to contribute to the cultural life in Ayr.
It makes an important contribution to the streetscape of Ayr. It is one of the first buildings visible when exiting Ayr railway station, and its landmark tower provides a focus for Burns Statue Square.
Odeon Cinemas in Scotland
In the 1930s, the Odeon circuit made its name by building a series of modern, well-appointed buildings. Beginning in the south, it gradually expanded nationwide. However, it struggled to gain a foothold in the highly lucrative but extremely cut-throat Scottish cinema market. In sharp contrast, its great rival ABC had begun in Glasgow under the Scottish Cinemas and Variety Theatres (SCVT) name, and had a strong presence and purpose-built halls in most of the main Scottish towns and cities.
Odeon initially tried to expand into Scotland by buying existing older buildings. In September 1936, Odeon purchased ten cinemas from the Glasgow-based Singleton chain, which were then rebranded as Odeons. However, many of these were far from the modern, luxurious machines for watching movies for which the chain was famous.
Singleton had been extremely canny and used the proceeds from offloading many of his substandard halls to build new cinemas and start another circuit of his own, adding to Odeon’s competition.
Odeon’s growth was truly phenomenal. Established as a circuit in 1933, it began a major expansion in 1936. The company’s peak year was 1937, by which time the circuit had decided not only to acquire existing cinemas in Scotland, but also to create its own highly branded, purpose-built venues there.
Odeon had decided to do things properly and began planning for its house architects to design and build a series of true Odeon Theatres across Scotland. By this time, the name Odeon had become almost a generic term for cinemas. The appearance of its cinemas was a distinctive feature of the brand, with liberal use of faience tiling, towers and streamlining.
To demonstrate how seriously this approach was being taken, a new company, Odeon (Scotland) Ltd., was formed. House architect Andrew Mather’s practice even established a branch office in Glasgow to oversee the schemes. Initially, seven cinemas were planned, for Ayr, Bridgeton, Falkirk, Hamilton, Motherwell, Partick and Townhead. Of these, only three were completed: Ayr opened on 30th July 1938, Hamilton on 14th November 1938, and Motherwell on 3rd December 1938. Bridgeton was reportedly under construction at the outset of war, but was never completed.
Of the three, Hamilton and Motherwell were very similar in design, featuring low, rectangular façades covered in cream faience, with a squat tower feature on the left. Both façades were somewhat dwarfed by the bulk of the auditorium blocks behind them. Although relatively plain, the architecture of these two cinemas was probably sufficient to stand out among the heavy industry that dominated most Lanarkshire towns. Motherwell was demolished in 1996 and Hamilton in 1999, leaving Ayr as the only survivor.
Architect Background
Odeon tended to use one of two architectural firms for its buildings: those of Andrew Mather or Harry Weedon. Mather worked with Weedon to devise and control the Odeon house style.
Although the Scottish Odeons are usually credited to Andrew Mather himself, they were actually designed by another member of his practice, Thomas Braddock. Braddock had worked closely with both Mather and Weedon on what was considered the most important Odeon ever built: the circuit’s flagship cinema in Leicester Square. Braddock was intimately involved in drawing up the final scheme for this seminal building.
Building Description
Ayr’s Odeon was completely different from its two Scottish brothers and is an excellent streetscape building of its era. In contrast to the plainer Lanarkshire cinemas, Ayr was a bustling seaside resort and needed an architectural statement more appropriate to this setting.
The composition is typical of later Art Deco architecture, with a strong emphasis on the building’s horizontal and vertical elements. The building is symmetrical, with a long, low frontage and shops flanking the central cinema entrance beneath the tall tower. While the shops front directly onto the street line, the cinema entrance curves inwards, providing a larger and more welcoming space outside in which patrons could assemble. The building’s commercial function is expressed externally not only through its instantly recognisable appearance, but also through the way its logistics work.
Circle Screen & Ceiling
Octagonal Odeon Clock
Circle Foyer
The main entrance block is two storeys high, with the tower rising by an additional storey to the height of the auditorium roof behind it. It is structured with three-dimensional projecting bands that sweep upwards from above the canopy. The side features extend over the parapet level, where they terminate in an elegant backward curve. The central feature is less pronounced and terminates at the parapet.
Originally, these bands were outlined in neon so that the cinema could be seen from afar, especially at night. Horizontal banding also outlined the canopy and marked the parapet level of the entrance block. Odeon neon name signs were hung vertically on the sides of the tower and horizontally across the top, completing the composition.
The tower’s vertical striations resemble those of Mather’s earlier Odeon in Portsmouth, dating from 1936, but the Ayr cinema is far less busy and much more streamlined. The sweeping curve of the entrance area, together with the shop units forming wings on either side, and the tower’s physical separation from the auditorium block, appear to be unique features among Odeon cinema designs.
The vertical entrance block above the canopy was originally covered in cream faience tiles. These have since been removed and the tower rendered over, resulting in the loss of some detailing.
Below the canopy, more cream tiling extended across the entire street frontage, emphasising its horizontality. This has since been replaced.
The auditorium is set back from the foyer. When viewed externally from the side, its roof can be seen sloping down towards the screen end. Unlike a traditional theatre, a building designed purely for film did not require a fly tower, so there was no need for a high roof at the screen end. This also reduced the volume of open space inside the building and therefore lowered heating costs.
This interesting roof construction was visible from inside through the segmented ceiling, which stepped down towards the screen.
The Scottish Odeons were built on a modest budget and scale compared with the finest and largest English Odeons. The designs for Hamilton and Motherwell seem to have suffered as a result. At Ayr, possibly because it was the first to open, or perhaps because there was considerable competition from other fine cinemas in a seaside resort town, architect Thomas Braddock seems to have made much more of an effort to produce something individual and architecturally interesting.
The tower has no structural purpose and was designed purely for show, serving as an advertising feature that allowed the cinema to be seen from great distances. This is an excellent use of the building as its own sign: commercial architecture at its best.
Despite the changes, the tower remains a dramatic landmark in the town, and it would not take much to restore the exterior to its original gleaming state.
Current Status
The interior of the Odeon has been altered over the years, notably when the auditorium was divided into three and later four separate screens. There are now two small screens in what was originally the rear stalls, one in the front stalls and one in the balcony.
The cinema originally had 1,732 seats and was tripled in 1987. A fourth screen was added in 1992. Current seating is 388 in the former circle, 371 in the former front stalls, and 168 and 135 in the two former rear-stalls screens.
The interior was always quite plain, however, so not a great deal has been lost. The building retains numerous subtle original features, including the handrails on the stairs from the main foyer to the balcony, balustrades in the balcony, curved plasterwork detailing on the balcony foyer ceiling, some ceiling light fixtures and, at the very back of the balcony, an internally illuminated octagonal Odeon circuit clock.
While the foyer itself has been modernised over the years, it is likely that original features such as cornicing and other plasterwork still survive above the modern suspended ceilings.
Except for the removal of the faience tiles from the entrance block and the resulting loss of detail, the exterior remains very much as it was originally built. The current blue tiles at ground level, while an unfortunate part of the current Odeon branding, would be easily replaceable.
Special Interest
During his lifetime, Oscar Deutsch built 140 cinemas throughout the UK. Atwell describes the instantly recognisable Odeon architecture as being among the best of any commercial buildings erected between the wars.
The Ayr cinema is the only surviving Odeon in Scotland and was, from the beginning, one of only three ever built here. Under the supervision of house architect Andrew Mather, it was designed by Thomas Braddock, who was also responsible for the circuit’s flagship cinema in Leicester Square, together with Harry Weedon and Andrew Mather. Although Ayr’s structure has been somewhat altered over the years, it still definitely retains the unique Odeon look.
It is of more than regional importance as the only remaining purpose-built Scottish Odeon, despite the fact that the original design has been somewhat compromised over the years. These compromises, especially those to the exterior, have the potential to be easily rectified.
Odeon closed the building in June 2023. Merlin Cinemas bought the site and re-opened it as the Astoria in March 2024.
References
- Ayrshire & Arran: An Illustrated Architectural Guide (Close, RIAS, 1992), p. 19.
- Clyde Coast Picture Palaces (Peter, Stenlake, 2000), pp. 44–47.
- Odeon Cinemas: Volume 1 (Eyles, BFI, 2002), pp. 156, 177–179 and 250.
- Odeon Cinemas: Volume 2 (Eyles, BFI, 2005), p. 222.
Postcard of Burns Statue Square featuring the Odeon, postmarked 1947.
