The La Scala opened in October 1912, in a conversion of an exisiting warehouse building. The design, by architects Duff & McKissack, seated 1,000 in an auditorium that also featured a restaurant.

The cinema was twinned in 1976, and a third screen was added in the cafe area in 1978. By the time it closed in May 1984, it seated 650, 250 and 110. By this time, the entrance had been much altered, with the original pillars and covered and the large stained glass window covered with a huge sign made up of shimmering yellow and gold circles.

Converted into a Waterstones bookshop in the 1990s, the interior was effectively gutted, although the entrance pillars and stained glass window have been restored.

Then and Now

Archive photos above from May 1984 courtesy of John and David Anderson

Photos below from 1982 courtesy Chris Doak

Images below courtesy Cinema Theatre Association archive.


Gallery of interior photos here, courtesy of the Scottish Screen Archive at the National Library of Scotland.