ABC Regal

McNair's original 1929 cinema provided seating for 2,359 on two levels, with stalls and a single balcony. It had stage facilities, an underground car park and even some of the original animal cages from its circus days intact in the vast basement. A huge amount of fabric was retained and re-used in this conversion - from above and the steep sloping Scott Street on its western side, half of the circular panorama structure was still visible in the form of brick arches. The arched windows flanking the monumental main entrance also appear to date from possibly the Ice-skating Palace days.

The main entrance took the form of a huge framed proscenium, with recessed full-height windows above a canopy and a row of entrance doors. Much of this entrance was fabricated from cast iron supplied by the city's famous Saracen Foundry. Twin payboxes flanked the small foyer whilst a double staircase or lifts whisked patrons to the upper level cafe and waiting spaces.

The huge auditorium was decorated in autumnal colours, with three arched bays on the splay walls, each decorated with painted landscape scenes. A giant cupola above the balcony was lit by concealed lighting. A 3/12 Compton organ was…

McNair's original 1929 cinema provided seating for 2,359 on two levels, with stalls and a single balcony. It had stage facilities, an underground car park and even some of the original animal cages from its circus days intact in the vast basement. A huge amount of fabric was retained and re-used in this conversion - from above and the steep sloping Scott Street on its western side, half of the circular panorama structure was still visible in the form of brick arches. The arched windows flanking the monumental main entrance also appear to date from possibly the Ice-skating Palace days.

The main entrance took the form of a huge framed proscenium, with recessed full-height windows above a canopy and a row of entrance doors. Much of this entrance was fabricated from cast iron supplied by the city's famous Saracen Foundry. Twin payboxes flanked the small foyer whilst a double staircase or lifts whisked patrons to the upper level cafe and waiting spaces.

The huge auditorium was decorated in autumnal colours, with three arched bays on the splay walls, each decorated with painted landscape scenes. A giant cupola above the balcony was lit by concealed lighting. A 3/12 Compton organ was also installed.

In 1955, the auditorium was modernised for the fitting of a wider Cinemascope screen, resulting in alterations to the splay walls. These were given contemporary finishes in pink, silver and turquoise.

In 1967, a second auditorium was purpose-built next door. It was one of the very few entirely new post-war cinemas built in Scotland prior to the rise of the multiplex in the 1980s, and reflected the changes in both architecture and cinema exhibition since the boom in cinema-building prior to the war. Externally, it was a modernist brown brick box with a two rows of small windows at lower levels and a recessed metal-clad roof. Inside, from a new entrance on Sauchiehall Street, patrons entered the foyer at ground level, containing a pay box and sales kiosk, then ascended a wide double staircase on the right, passing the advance booking hall to the first floor waiting lounge and licensed bar. These all made generous use of wood and plate glass finishes. A vomitory led from the first floor to the centre of the massive auditorium.

The screen and auditorium walls were entirely lined with a continuous sweep of gold pleated curtains, above which floated a suspended ceiling illuminated by hidden lighting. The giant, curved screen was for many years the biggest in Scotland, measuring some 50ft x 23ft. Plush red seating was provided for 922 patrons in a stadium-style layout,…

In 1967, a second auditorium was purpose-built next door. It was one of the very few entirely new post-war cinemas built in Scotland prior to the rise of the multiplex in the 1980s, and reflected the changes in both architecture and cinema exhibition since the boom in cinema-building prior to the war. Externally, it was a modernist brown brick box with a two rows of small windows at lower levels and a recessed metal-clad roof. Inside, from a new entrance on Sauchiehall Street, patrons entered the foyer at ground level, containing a pay box and sales kiosk, then ascended a wide double staircase on the right, passing the advance booking hall to the first floor waiting lounge and licensed bar. These all made generous use of wood and plate glass finishes. A vomitory led from the first floor to the centre of the massive auditorium.

The screen and auditorium walls were entirely lined with a continuous sweep of gold pleated curtains, above which floated a suspended ceiling illuminated by hidden lighting. The giant, curved screen was for many years the biggest in Scotland, measuring some 50ft x 23ft. Plush red seating was provided for 922 patrons in a stadium-style layout, raked with no balcony. Full 70mm projection facilities were installed to better suit this "roadshow" era of cinema-going, where big new releases were rolled out in separate performances with bookable seating - no more continuous programmes with multiple features, shorts, newsreels etc. The whole building reportedly cost £200,000 and was designed by in-house ABC architects Leslie Norton and CJ Foster. Kine Weekly reported the opening on the 19th October 1967 as being "one of the biggest showmanship events in Glasgow's history." The inaugural feature was Far From The Madding Crowd. The new cinema was known, imaginatively, as ABC 2.

In 1979, the original Regal next door, by now known as ABC 1, was closed for quadrupling. The largest screen, formed from the original balcony extended forward, sat 980, and remained known as ABC 1. The three smaller screens, ABCs 3-5, were built side-by-side in the former stalls, sitting 206, 306 and 192. The new five screen complex re-opened as the ABC Film Centre on the 13th December 1979.

The 1980s and 1990s saw the cinema change hands a number of times, being known variously through this era as the Cannon, the MGM, and back to ABC. Screen 2 in the 1967 building became Screen 1 and the former Screen 1 in the 1929 building became Screen 2.

The following technical details of the 5 screens on closure as a cinema are courtesy of Brendan Macneil:

Cinema 1 (original balcony of 1929 auditorium)

Seats 970

Screen frame 37’ x 16’

Projection Philips/Kinoton FP20

Screen 35’6 x 15’

Sound B&D, Dolby (SR)

Widescreen 25’5 x 13’9

Picture Throw 101’

Cinemascope 31’10 x 13’9

Cinema 2 (1967 ABC 2 building)

Seats 872

Screen frame 60’10 x 26’4

Projection Philips/Kinoton DP75

Screen 55’4 x 25’8

Sound B&D, Dolby (SR)

Academy 31’5 x 24’

In 1979, the original Regal next door, by now known as ABC 1, was closed for quadrupling. The largest screen, formed from the original balcony extended forward, sat 980, and remained known as ABC 1. The three smaller screens, ABCs 3-5, were built side-by-side in the former stalls, sitting 206, 306 and 192. The new five screen complex re-opened as the ABC Film Centre on the 13th December 1979.

The 1980s and 1990s saw the cinema change hands a number of times, being known variously through this era as the Cannon, the MGM, and back to ABC. Screen 2 in the 1967 building became Screen 1 and the former Screen 1 in the 1929 building became Screen 2.

The following technical details of the 5 screens on closure as a cinema are courtesy of Brendan Macneil:

Cinema 1 (original balcony of 1929 auditorium)

Seats 970

Screen frame 37’ x 16’

Projection Philips/Kinoton FP20

Screen 35’6 x 15’

Sound B&D, Dolby (SR)

Widescreen 25’5 x 13’9

Picture Throw 101’

Cinemascope 31’10 x 13’9

Cinema 2 (1967 ABC 2 building)

Seats 872

Screen frame 60’10 x 26’4

Projection Philips/Kinoton DP75

Screen 55’4 x 25’8

Sound B&D, Dolby (SR)

Academy 31’5 x 24’

Picture Throw 116’

Widescreen 31’5 x 19’3

Cinemascope 42’7 x 19’3

TODD AO 48’6 x 24’

Cinema 3 (former centre stalls of 1929 auditorium)

Seats 384

Screen frame 32’ x 15’5

Projection Philips/Kinoton FP30

Screen 28’ x 12’6

Sound Pathé, Dolby (SR)

Widescreen 20’5 x 11’5

Picture Throw 94’4

Cinemascope 26’ x 11’5

Cinema 4 (former right stalls of 1929 auditorium)

Seats 206

Screen frame 22’4 x 11’8

Projection Philips/Kinoton FP20

Screen 20’8 x 10’3

Sound Pathé, Dolby (A)

Widescreen 13’9 x 7’11

Picture Throw 66’6

Cinemascope 19’2 x 7’11

Cinema 5 (former left stalls of 1929 auditorium)

Seats 194

Screen frame 22’4 x 11’8

Projection Philips/Kinoton FP30

Screen 20’7 x 10’

Sound Pathé, Dolby (SR)

Widescreen 13’6 x 7’6

Picture Throw 65’

Cinemascope 17’8 x 7’6

The cinema era of the site started coming to an end at the turn of the century. The 1967 screen closed on 29th October 1998 and the remaining screens in the 1929 building followed on 14th October 1999. Both structures lay derelict for a few years before being extensively gutted internally. The 1929 building had a new bay added to its western side which housed a Sports Cafe (later Campus), with the main auditorium converted into a concert venue known, happily, as the ABC. This had a few very minor features from the original building retained, such as a small piece of Greek key plasterwork and some terrazzo flooring in the foyer. The main concert venue upstairs was stripped to the metal framework and wooden rafters of the original ceiling, some of which dated from the panorama days. It became very popular as an essential medium-sized gig venue for the city. A smaller room, known oddly enough as ABC 2, hosted more intimate gigs, along with a number of bars. The venue initially feature an enormous reproduction of the old ABC cinemas lozenge hanging in the entrance portico, but sadly it was removed when it was sold to new owners,…

The cinema era of the site started coming to an end at the turn of the century. The 1967 screen closed on 29th October 1998 and the remaining screens in the 1929 building followed on 14th October 1999. Both structures lay derelict for a few years before being extensively gutted internally. The 1929 building had a new bay added to its western side which housed a Sports Cafe (later Campus), with the main auditorium converted into a concert venue known, happily, as the ABC. This had a few very minor features from the original building retained, such as a small piece of Greek key plasterwork and some terrazzo flooring in the foyer. The main concert venue upstairs was stripped to the metal framework and wooden rafters of the original ceiling, some of which dated from the panorama days. It became very popular as an essential medium-sized gig venue for the city. A smaller room, known oddly enough as ABC 2, hosted more intimate gigs, along with a number of bars. The venue initially feature an enormous reproduction of the old ABC cinemas lozenge hanging in the entrance portico, but sadly it was removed when it was sold to new owners, whose corporate sponsorship deal led to it becoming known as the O2 ABC. They also owned the former New Bedford cinema in the southside, which had become the O2 Academy. The 1967 building was also gutted to bare brick internally, and became a Jumpin Jaks nightclub, which operated till around 2015, after which it was renamed the Sauchie Beer Hall - athough the Jumpin Jaks signage higher on the facade remained. In 2010, the 1929 structure was C-listed by Historic Scotland as part of its Theatres Thematic Survey - they noted that the "ABC has a complex history however its various changes have resulted in a striking and unusual streetscape elevation which is an important feature of one of Glasgow's principal streets".

In August 2016, an application (16/01883/DC) was made to demolish the 1967 ABC 2 building for student flats. Glasgow City Council refused this in May 2017, and the developer appealed (PPA-260-2061). The appeal was turned down by the Scottish Government in December 2017. Both had turned down the proposals due to the affect the scale of the flats had on the adjacent Mackintosh building belonging to the Glasgow School of Art, which sat immediately behind and above both cinema structures on the steep slops of Garnethill. At this point, the Mackintosh building was halfway through restoration following fire damage incurred to its western half in 2014.

Sadly, after around 140 years of entertainment history on the site, it all came to a sudden, unplanned end. With the restoration almost complete, the Mackintosh building suffered a second, much more destructive fire on the evening of 15th June 2018. This time, the Mack was completely gutted. In the small hours of the following morning, the fire spread and took hold in the wooden roofspace of the 1929 ABC structure. The old entertainment complex was completely destroyed in the blaze, the metal roof cladding and trusses left a collapsed, twisted mess by the time daylight broke. The 1967 former ABC 2 suffered only smoke and water damage, but by this stage, it was largely unoccupied.

Anger in the city over a second Art School fire was amplified by the collateral loss of the ABC, both as a respected music venue with well-regarded acoustics, and as a building with a long cultural and social history in the lives of many generations of Glaswegians, moreso than even the Art School, some argued. In the months after the fire, works took place to make the site safe by removing the loose roof cladding and some wallhead brickwork of the ABC, then some internal trusses were fitted to main facade. Despite the catastrophic loss of the roof, the main facade and entrance portico seemed not to be suffering from structural distress. and at no stage were the public forbidden from walking directly underneath them.

In 2019, an application was made (19/00266/LBA & 19/00232/BW) to completely demolish both the 1929 and 1967 structures on account of fire damage. Campaigners and heritage organisations pointed out that the main facade, and especially the entrance portico, were relatively undamaged, not considered a danger to the public, and therefore were eminently saveable in any future plans for the site. The developers subsequently issued a further structural opinion that this was not the case, after which Historic Scotland withdrew their objection. Curiously, the case remained undecided until 2024, when an application was submitted to build an extensive single student facility occupying the footprint of both the 1929 and 1967 cinema structures. Despite being larger than the 2016 application in scale, Glasgow City Council passed these proposals, although they were subsequently called in by the Scottish Government (NA-260-005), again, over fears of the effect the development would have on the adjacent Mackintosh building, even though it remains a fire-ravaged hulk. As of August 2026, this call-in remains undetermined.

In August 2024, the council suddenly issued a Dangerous Buildings Notice, specifically requiring that the main facades of the 1929 building be made safe or demolished, despite there still being no sign of structural distress. Again, campaigners and heritage groups argued that the main entrance portico was almost untouched by the fire, was structurally sound and perfectly capable of being retained. Despite this, work took place to demolish it over the following months and by the start of 2025, the portico was gone. As argued prior to the work, the demolition revealed that the entrance block was hardly touched by the fire, painted surfaces and plastic fixtures inside being perfectly intact. With the only element worthy and capable of retention now gone, and the remaining auditorium structure bizarrely still standing despite massive damage and loose masonry, it now seems only a matter of time before the entirety of the 1929 and 1967 cinema buildings are razed, as arguments over what replaces them rage on. A warrant for complete demolition was applied for in December 2025 (25/02252/BW).

In the early hours of 1st September 2026, smoke was seen coming from the derelict ABC 2 building. Fire crews attended and dealt with the blaze but externally, the building showed little visible sign of damage.