Today I made my very first visit to a site. Not my first time doing any urban exploration, however this was the first time I had researched a place, planned a point of entry, made my own way in etc. I was slightly disappointed to find much of the actual cinema had been stripped away long ago, but was thrilled to get this under my belt.
The cinema opened on the 30th March 1939, as the “Country Cinema”. It was renamed in 1954 as the “George Cinema” after being taken over the George Palmer.
The exterior building itself is incredible, so unique, especially for the area. It was categorised as a grade C in 1973, and it’s east to see why.
It was designed by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, who is also responsible for the more famous, Dominion Cinema in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Originally, it had a 33 feet high, neon lit, glass advertising tower. Its intended purpose being to host the Edinburgh film festival.
The cinema closed on the 15th June 1974, and began operating as the Royal George Bingo Club. This bingo club closed in late August of 2019.
There has been disputes over the building for many years now, with plans to build flats that were rejected by the Council at the plea of various historical building societies as well as Porty locals.
I remember waking past this place as a kid and the building stuck out like a sore thumb in the best possible way. It looked so alien and enormous, old, but oddly futuristic. Reminds me of the architecture in a clockwork orange.
It was a pleasure to get in and have a look around. For those who would need to travel, there wasn’t a massive amount left to see, and there’s certainly better cinemas to visit for your troubles. For locals or cinema perverts, it’s worth a look.
Please forgive any errors or poor photography on my part, like I said, first time doing anything like this. Looking forward to your tips, comments, feedback and constructive criticism.
- Outlaw Explorer.
The cinema opened on the 30th March 1939, as the “Country Cinema”. It was renamed in 1954 as the “George Cinema” after being taken over the George Palmer.
The exterior building itself is incredible, so unique, especially for the area. It was categorised as a grade C in 1973, and it’s east to see why.
It was designed by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, who is also responsible for the more famous, Dominion Cinema in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Originally, it had a 33 feet high, neon lit, glass advertising tower. Its intended purpose being to host the Edinburgh film festival.
The cinema closed on the 15th June 1974, and began operating as the Royal George Bingo Club. This bingo club closed in late August of 2019.
There has been disputes over the building for many years now, with plans to build flats that were rejected by the Council at the plea of various historical building societies as well as Porty locals.
I remember waking past this place as a kid and the building stuck out like a sore thumb in the best possible way. It looked so alien and enormous, old, but oddly futuristic. Reminds me of the architecture in a clockwork orange.
It was a pleasure to get in and have a look around. For those who would need to travel, there wasn’t a massive amount left to see, and there’s certainly better cinemas to visit for your troubles. For locals or cinema perverts, it’s worth a look.
Please forgive any errors or poor photography on my part, like I said, first time doing anything like this. Looking forward to your tips, comments, feedback and constructive criticism.
- Outlaw Explorer.
