White Elephant / Elephant
42 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands
The White
Elephant cinema opened
in 1927, and was designed by architect H. Barnes for eccentric Glasgow
cinema magnate AE Pickard. In its original configuration, it had
seating for around 1900, part of a complex also featuring a ballroom,
restaurant and car park. The auditorium was entered from beneath the
proscenium, rather than from the rear as was more normal.
The unusual name was the result of a competition, and was changed to
just Elephant when the cinema was sold to AB King in 1934. A
CinemaScope screen was installed in the 1950s.
When it was converted to shops after closure in 1960, the facade was
refaced and slightly cut down - the stonework finish was originally
similar to the ballroom section (now a club) visible on the far left of
the photo above. The entrance to the car park is under this section as
well. A picture of the exterior of the auditorium block can be found
A view of the interior as a cinema is
here, courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association archive.
Click on
the booklet on the
left to see the full contents, describing some of the films…
White Elephant / Elephant
42 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands
The White
Elephant cinema opened
in 1927, and was designed by architect H. Barnes for eccentric Glasgow
cinema magnate AE Pickard. In its original configuration, it had
seating for around 1900, part of a complex also featuring a ballroom,
restaurant and car park. The auditorium was entered from beneath the
proscenium, rather than from the rear as was more normal.
The unusual name was the result of a competition, and was changed to
just Elephant when the cinema was sold to AB King in 1934. A
CinemaScope screen was installed in the 1950s.
When it was converted to shops after closure in 1960, the facade was
refaced and slightly cut down - the stonework finish was originally
similar to the ballroom section (now a club) visible on the far left of
the photo above. The entrance to the car park is under this section as
well. A picture of the exterior of the auditorium block can be found
A view of the interior as a cinema is
here, courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association archive.
Click on
the booklet on the
left to see the full contents, describing some of the films that were
showing in Shawlands' Supreme Cinema in March 1928.
References
100 Years of Glasgow's Glorious Cinemas, Bruce Peter, Polygon, 1996.
The Glasgow Story
website page on the cinema, with an photo of the original exterior, can
be found here .
