Scotland’s Art Deco Heritage 20 (i) Alloa
Posted in Art Deco, Cinemas, Woolworths at 13:00 on 24 August 2011
I took these a month or so ago.
This is the former Gaumont (later Odeon, Classic and De Luxe) Cinema, Mill Street, Alloa.
According to the Scottish cinemas website it was the last Gaumont to be built pre-war, and the only purpose built Gaumont in Scotland.
Below is a photo of the upper level of a building on Primrose Street, now sadly unoccupied.
At the junction of Shillinghill and Mill Street you can see this:-
Perhaps not really deco but the bits that resemble chimneys have the look.
As part of my quest to photograph old Woolworths premises here is the Alloa variety. It’s right next to the former cinema and has been taken over by Poundland. Not deco, it looks of 1960s or 70s vintage to me.
A couple more pictures of these buildings are on my flickr site.
Tags: Alloa, Art Deco, Cinemas, Woolworths
kirstie
28 December 2011 at 00:16
hey, i was just wondering if you had any history on the building? i actually work in poundland, just be interesting to know 🙂
jackdeighton
28 December 2011 at 12:36
Sorry Kirstie, no.
I only know it was a Woolies because it appeared in the photo of the Gaumont on the Scottish cinemas web-site. Like I said it looks as if it was built in the 1960s or 70s.
Janet
17 September 2012 at 20:35
Hi Jack,
I’ve just found your site and enjoyed looking through all your photos. Thanks for putting the site together, it’s really interesting.
If you had gone straight along the road from the old Gaumont cinema in Alloa (towards the West End Park), you would have found the old gas showrooms which is a lovely art deco building (recently taken over by Buicks the ironmonger). I always thought it was an old cinema but my mother assures me it was always the gas showroom.
jackdeighton
17 September 2012 at 21:49
Hi Janet,
Thanks.
I think I may have seen this building last week (Sep 2012) when I was in Alloa again.
(I’ve just checked the photos I took and it is Buick’s.)
Yes it’s an absolute belter! My camera has been acting up and the new photos aren’t great but I’ll be getting them on my blog soon.