Mecca / Vogue
Balmore Road, Possil
Opening as the Mecca in August
1933, the Mecca was designed by James McKissack for Smith and Welsh. It
originally seated 1,620. In January 1950 it was sold to the Singleton
circuit, and renamed Vogue.
The Vogue remained a cinema until April 1968, when it went over to full
time bingo.
The opening of a modern
purpose-built bingo hall nearby eventually saw the end of bingo at the
Vogue. The building has sat derelict since the late 1990s, but appears
to have been kept secure and watertight.
In January 2005, the cracks in the exterior rendering were repaired,
the canopy removed, new roller shutters were fitted over all the ground
floor doors and
windows, and futher repairs have been made to the roof. Unfortunately,
as can be seen from the latest picture above, both the sandstone
portions and faience tiles have been painted over as well. The
condition of the interior is unknown.
A side view of the auditorium exterior, showing the patched roof, can
be seen
An exterior from 1982 can be seen
here, courtesy Chris Doak.
Pictures of the exterior from February 2002, prior to the recent
repairs and repainting, are available
Mecca / Vogue
Balmore Road, Possil
Opening as the Mecca in August
1933, the Mecca was designed by James McKissack for Smith and Welsh. It
originally seated 1,620. In January 1950 it was sold to the Singleton
circuit, and renamed Vogue.
The Vogue remained a cinema until April 1968, when it went over to full
time bingo.
The opening of a modern
purpose-built bingo hall nearby eventually saw the end of bingo at the
Vogue. The building has sat derelict since the late 1990s, but appears
to have been kept secure and watertight.
In January 2005, the cracks in the exterior rendering were repaired,
the canopy removed, new roller shutters were fitted over all the ground
floor doors and
windows, and futher repairs have been made to the roof. Unfortunately,
as can be seen from the latest picture above, both the sandstone
portions and faience tiles have been painted over as well. The
condition of the interior is unknown.
A side view of the auditorium exterior, showing the patched roof, can
be seen
An exterior from 1982 can be seen
here, courtesy Chris Doak.
Pictures of the exterior from February 2002, prior to the recent
repairs and repainting, are available
here,
and
