Palace Cinema

This was built as a high-class restaurant with a function room that had 1,000-seats. It was operated by H. MacGregor and opened in 1905. After a few years it became the American Roller Skating Rink. In 1913 it was renamed the Cinem Varieties Theatre, most likely programming variety performances and films as part of the programme. The exterior of the building featured twin towers topped by domes. The 800-seats in the auditorium (including boxes) were all on a single floor. In 1915 it was renamed Palace of Varieties and by 1934 it was operated by Scottish Cinemas and Variety Theatres Ltd., a subsidiary of Associated British Cinemas(ABC). It was equipped with a British Talking Pictures (BTP) sound system.

In June 1940 it was taken over by the Associated G.P. Cinemas chain operated by George Palmer. The Palace Cinema took a direct hit from a German landmine during the Clydebank blitz on 13th-14th March 1941. The audience had left the building, so no lives were lost, but the building was destroyed beyond repair and the remains were later demolished. The Palace Cinema was the only cinema in Scotland to be totally destroyed during World War II.

Housing now stands on the site.

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