Leith Cinemas
198-208 (205) Great Junction Street
The State cinema in Leith
opened in 1938, part of a rather forward-thinking multi-use leisure
development that also incorporated several shops, two billiard halls,
and a skittle alley. The billiards and skittles were in the two floors
above the entrance foyer, with the main cinema filling the rear part of
the building.
The cinema closed to films in 1972, and became a Mecca bingo hall, and
was later again converted at great expense into the Babylon nightclub.
This has since closed, and the cinema part of the building has since
been lying empty. A snooker hall still uses the upper floors in the
foyer block.
The building was B-listed
by Historic Scotland in 1995.
As reported in the Edinburgh
Evening News , a planning
application has been submitted to Edinburgh City Council to
demolish the cinema part of the complex, and replace it with a
restaurant and flats. The foyer block and snooker hall would remain,
with the exterior being repaired and restored to its original colour
scheme. The entrance to the flat complex would be through the cinema
foyer, in which it is planned to retain some of the original decoration.
Interior…
Leith Cinemas
198-208 (205) Great Junction Street
The State cinema in Leith
opened in 1938, part of a rather forward-thinking multi-use leisure
development that also incorporated several shops, two billiard halls,
and a skittle alley. The billiards and skittles were in the two floors
above the entrance foyer, with the main cinema filling the rear part of
the building.
The cinema closed to films in 1972, and became a Mecca bingo hall, and
was later again converted at great expense into the Babylon nightclub.
This has since closed, and the cinema part of the building has since
been lying empty. A snooker hall still uses the upper floors in the
foyer block.
The building was B-listed
by Historic Scotland in 1995.
As reported in the Edinburgh
Evening News , a planning
application has been submitted to Edinburgh City Council to
demolish the cinema part of the complex, and replace it with a
restaurant and flats. The foyer block and snooker hall would remain,
with the exterior being repaired and restored to its original colour
scheme. The entrance to the flat complex would be through the cinema
foyer, in which it is planned to retain some of the original decoration.
Interior image courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association Archive
Ideal Kinema described the building on opening as follows:
The State, Leith 1,650 Capacity Theatre of Stadium Type Decoration for Colour Lighting
The
first new kinema to be erected in Leith for eleven years, the State, in
Great Junction Street, provided the architect, James Millar, of
Edinburgh, with an unusual number of problems, particularly in
connection with the foundations.
Owing to its proximity to the Water
of Leith some of the bases to stanchions had to be taken down some 20ft
to get below the bed of the river. An overflow sewer had to be bridged
over at 25ft below ground level and a heading driven 30ft below the
tramway lines in Great Junction Street for 30 yds to make connection
with the sewer. Altogether demolition, foundations and perparatory work
required ten weeks and the house itself was completed in 14 weeks.
The
State, which is of the stadium type, seats 1,650 patrons, of whom 450
are on the raised portion behind the stalls. The whole building, which
includes also four shops, two billiards saloons and a skittle alley,
cost about £45,000.
The facade is carried out attractively in
artificial ashlar stonework, and below the square tower, its most
prominent architectural feature, is the rounded canopy over the
entrance. The underside of the canopy is surfaced with chromium, which
reflects the neon lighting.
The entrance hall is faced with walnut
panelling and plastic paint finished in gold. Its main features are the
decorative columns and the pay-box and confectionary stall, the fronts
of which are formed in wrought-iron. A modern design in orange and buff
is formed in the terrazzo floor.
The general scheme of
decoration in the auditorium is in green, silver and ivory, to provide
a perfect background for the Holophane lighting for which the house was
specially designed. The wood dado and base to proscenium arch are in
green with black lines. Sight lines have been specially considered so
as to ensure a perfect view of the screen from every seat in the house.
The
Trinity Chair Co., of Scarborough, supplied the seating. Imperial
chairs to the number of 1,200, upholstered in jaspe moquette with
polished scroll arms on American back-stop standards, are fixed in the
auditorium, the balcony having 400 Riviera chairs, upholstered in jaspe
moquette with Dunlipillo arms on American back-stop standards.
Unit
heaters combine in heating and ventilating the building. There are six
air changes per hour, and when necessary cool fresh air can be supplied.
RCA
High Fidelity sound system has been installed with the latest Ross
projectors. The independent lighting system comprises a Chloride
battery of 110 sealed-in type, having a capacity of 60 ampere-hours at
the 10-hour rate of discharge, and is operated on the floating battery
system.
The stage and auditorium lighting is by Holophane. The
curtain is lit by a footlight and two vertical side battens, and the
auditorium by a well trough and batten on the back wall. On either side
of this two clip troughs are placed. The whole is controlled by the
Auto Selector Control switchboard in the projection room. The total
loading for the lighting and power is approximately 50kw.
The
State was constructed for the Leith Cinema Co. Ltd., of which James
Miller is the Chairman. WH Albin, past president of the Scottish branch
of the CEA is managing director, and R McLaughlin, CA, also a Scottish
brand past president is secretary. The house manager is George E Ness,
who was an assistant manager with the GB Corporation for a number of
years.
