The New Victoria opened
on 25th August 1930. It was designed for the
Gaumont company by the architects WE Trent & JW Jordan, with
seating for 2,058. (Trent's only other cinema north of the border, also
for Gaumont, is in Alloa ).
The small foyer led to a long, curving stalls lounge. The auditorium
was in classical Greek style, with figurines in niches lining the
walls. A curving collonade ran round the rear of the balcony, and
several private boxes lined the rear of the stalls. The original
proscenium was flanked by 6 full-height pillars on each side. Full
stage and dressing room facilities were provided.
CinemaScope was installed in 1954, and the proscenium was widened and
brought forward and the pillars hidden by curtains in 1958 to allow
'South Pacific' to be shown in 70mm. The auditorium was also
modernised, and lights were fitted
to the ceiling to create the effect of a sitting out under a starry
sky in 1960. The seating was also reduced to around 1,784. In April
1964,
the building was renamed the Odeon.
In 1974, the building was B-listed as, in the words of Historic
Scotland, " An
outstanding
example of the work of…
The New Victoria opened
on 25th August 1930. It was designed for the
Gaumont company by the architects WE Trent & JW Jordan, with
seating for 2,058. (Trent's only other cinema north of the border, also
for Gaumont, is in Alloa ).
The small foyer led to a long, curving stalls lounge. The auditorium
was in classical Greek style, with figurines in niches lining the
walls. A curving collonade ran round the rear of the balcony, and
several private boxes lined the rear of the stalls. The original
proscenium was flanked by 6 full-height pillars on each side. Full
stage and dressing room facilities were provided.
CinemaScope was installed in 1954, and the proscenium was widened and
brought forward and the pillars hidden by curtains in 1958 to allow
'South Pacific' to be shown in 70mm. The auditorium was also
modernised, and lights were fitted
to the ceiling to create the effect of a sitting out under a starry
sky in 1960. The seating was also reduced to around 1,784. In April
1964,
the building was renamed the Odeon.
In 1974, the building was B-listed as, in the words of Historic
Scotland, " An
outstanding
example of the work of the most famous British cinema
specialists ."
The stage was made deeper in 1978, and the building was often used for
live music shows such as The Clash.
In
1982, the auditorium was subdivided, with two new cinemas created in
the original rear stalls area. The original balcony became Screen 1.
Due to the listed status of the building, this was done in a reversible
manner, with the original decoration retained. In 1989, two more
screens were created - one on the stage and front stalls area; the
other above this in space above the stage. A replica of part of the
original proscenium was created for Screen 1, directly in front of the
original, which remained hidden but intact.
Screen 1 replica proscenium
In 2003, Odeon sold the
building (along with the Odeon
Renfield Street in Glasgow) to a property developer. The cinema
closed on 30th August 2003, with many of the staff transferring to the
new miniplex Odeon that was opened on the site of the old ABC Lothian Road . At the time of closure,
there were 5 screens, seating: 1: 639 (original circle), 2: 292 (left
rear stalls), 3: 201 (right rear stalls), 4: 261 (stage and front
stalls), 5: 107 (above 4 on stage).
In August 2004 the building was
temporarily used as a Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue called Pod Deco - each of the screens was
a
separate stage used for comedy and drama. Temporary seating was used,
and in
Screen 1, a new lighting rig was suspended from the ceiling. Curtains
hid the lack of screen.
Especially
nice was the re-opening of
the cafe area as a bar, and being able to
sit
out on the balcony
on a summer
evening having a drink. The Pod people had expressed an interest in
running
the building as an all-year round venue, although nothing came of this.
In February 2005, plans
were lodged with Edinburgh City Council to demolish the auditorium
entirely, and build student flats on the site. Only the facade would be
retained under this scheme, although it too would be modified by the
addition of an extra glass floor above the current roof-level. This
scheme was thankfully eventually withdrawn. It is understood that some
other parties may have expressed interest in
utilising the building for other uses, and the ultimate fate of the
building is far from certain at present.
In August 2005, the building was once again used as a fringe venue, called C Electric , and the main Screen 1 was being used to show classic films, projected from 35mm film, for the duration of the Festival.
A selection of photos from
the Odeon's closing night in August 2003 are available here , courtesy of
Stuart Kelly.
Another selection of closing night photos from Graham Hughes are available here .
A
selection of interior photos from 1982 courtesy of Alistair Kerr
are available here .
A selection of interior
photos from 2002/2003 are available here .
A gallery
of exterior photos taken in April 2004 here ,
showing how closely surrounded
by buildings the auditorium is.
Then and now photos - what original decoration survives in the Odeon as
it is in 2005?
Foyer
Stalls Lounge
Cafe
Auditorium Front (1930s)
Auditorium Front (1960s)
Auditorium Rear
Click here for a full photo tour of the inside of the building circa 2005.
(Many thanks to Iain Stewart of Duddingston House Properties and the very nice people at C Venues
for
allowing us access to record the interior.)
Images courtesy of Frank Watson / Scottish Cinema Organ Trust
John McDougall at the 2/10
Wurlitzer organ
External Link: this website on
the Odeon
Edinburgh features more interior photos, as
well as a newspaper report of the opening of the cinema in 1930.
Technical details (courtesy George Will & Geoff Ruderham):
Cinema 1 (35mm & 70mm) From 1956 onwards Philips DP70’s. (35/70mm Projectors)
At closure; Cinemeccanica Victoria 9 with Christie table (Non Rewind system) also
Sound before closure Dolby Digital, Dolby S.R., Dolby Stereo & DTS.
Cinema 2, (35mm only) Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 with Christie table (Non Rewind system) Sound Dolby S.R
A unique interlock system was installed between 2&3 so they could share one print at busy times.
Cinema 3, (35mm only) Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 with Christie Non Rewind system Sound Dolby S.R
Cinema 4, (35mm only) Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 with Christie Non Rewind system Sound Dolby Stereo
Cinema 5, (35mm only) Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 with Christie Non Rewind system Sound Dolby Stereo
