The La Scala opened in December 1913, originally seating almost 700. The auditorium was largely stadium in style, with narrow slips leading to the screen from the rear stalls. A tiny balcony consisted just of 5 private boxes, while films were projected from the back of the stalls.
The original screen was 20ft x 15ft, surrounded by a curved proscenium.
Talkies were shown from 1930, and the cinema continued largely unchanged until the early 1980s, when the building was split to create a snooker hall on a newly created upper floor, and a small cinema seating around 160 at the rear of the building.
The cinema closed in 1984, but snooker continued, accompanied by amusements, until the 1990s.
La Scala was C-listed by Historic Scotland in 1993. Of the original features, only portions of the ceiling decoration and some stained glass windows on the facade were known to survive by then.
Plans were mooted on for a possible re-opening and use of the building as a community resource and cinema in the early 2000s, but sadly they come to nothing, and planning permission was granted for restaurant/pub use,
Work began on the conversion in August 2006 and the building re-opened…
The La Scala opened in December 1913, originally seating almost 700. The auditorium was largely stadium in style, with narrow slips leading to the screen from the rear stalls. A tiny balcony consisted just of 5 private boxes, while films were projected from the back of the stalls.
The original screen was 20ft x 15ft, surrounded by a curved proscenium.
Talkies were shown from 1930, and the cinema continued largely unchanged until the early 1980s, when the building was split to create a snooker hall on a newly created upper floor, and a small cinema seating around 160 at the rear of the building.
The cinema closed in 1984, but snooker continued, accompanied by amusements, until the 1990s.
La Scala was C-listed by Historic Scotland in 1993. Of the original features, only portions of the ceiling decoration and some stained glass windows on the facade were known to survive by then.
Plans were mooted on for a possible re-opening and use of the building as a community resource and cinema in the early 2000s, but sadly they come to nothing, and planning permission was granted for restaurant/pub use,
Work began on the conversion in August 2006 and the building re-opened as a pub called The Logie Baird on Wednesday 11th of April 2007. John Logie Baird, one of the pioneers in the invention of television, was born in the town. The pub closed its doors in 2019 and lay empty for a spell before refurbishment and re-opening in January 2026 as another pub called The Comet. Named after one of the Europe's first commercially successful paddle steamships, the PS Comet was devised by Henry Bell and plied its trade on the Clyde between Helensburgh, Greenock and Glasgow from 1812.
The pub conversion was largely built within a modern box structure, with nothing of the original auditorium on view - it is not known if the original auditorium plasterwork survives behind this anywhere,
Many thanks to Phil Worms for his photos and assistance.
Bruce Peter.
