The Charing Cross Electric Theare was a cinema in Glasgow , Scotland. It was opened in 1910 on Sauchiehall Street in the centre of Glasgow. Although not the first building used for cinema in Glasgow, it was the first purpose-built cinema in the city. The cinema was operated by West of Scotland Electric Theatres . The building it occupied was designed by Robert Duncan in 1898 with a cast iron structure but with a traditional stone frontage with high numbers of large windows.
7-591: The cinema closed in 1926. After the closure of the cinema. the building was later re-opened as the Locarno Ballroom . The building is now a Grade B listed building . 55°51′56″N 4°15′51″W / 55.8655°N 4.2643°W / 55.8655; -4.2643 This Scotland -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Locarno Ballroom 55°51′59″N 4°16′08″W / 55.86625°N 4.26884°W / 55.86625; -4.26884 Locarno Ballrooms were
14-586: A series of large public ballrooms located in England and Scotland and were represented in most major British cities. The company was created in 1926 and named after the Locarno treaties of 1925 which offered a new hope and spirit in post-war Europe (created in Locarno in Switzerland). Given the company's development pattern it was presumably Scots-owned. Many earlier buildings were adaptations of cinemas, which despite
21-517: Is a category B listed building due to its architectural and cultural significance (LB33197). In 1966, American R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner performed at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry. Several Locarnos were the siting of "Come Dancing" in the 1960s and 70s. The Coventry band The Specials refer to their local Locarno in their hit "Friday Night and Saturday Morning" (also covered by
28-498: The Charing Cross Electric Theatre , Glasgow's first purpose built cinema. This was designed by Robert Duncan in 1898 with a cast iron structure but with a traditional stone frontage with high numbers of large windows (certainly more glazing than a typical cinema of the day). The original full title was the "Locarno Palais de Dance". Functionally the buildings focussed on what would now be called ballroom dancing and
35-451: The growing success of cinemas were generally over-provided. The demand in these pre-sound days was for smaller and more widely distributed cinemas and some of the bigger venues struggled. The smaller cinemas were in turn hit by the advent of sound films, and many did not survive this expensive transition. The first Locarno was created in 1926 on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow , in the shell of
42-502: The locations provided both professional displays plus instruction classes. The Glasgow venue was home to Scotland's first Scottish Professional Dancing Championships in 1928. The chain and brand name was mainly acquired by Mecca Leisure Group in the mid 1960s but they retained the much-loved name Locarno in most locations. Under Mecca many also gained a function as a performance venue. Several venues were particularly associated with Northern Soul . Sadly most venues were closed prior to
49-590: The revival of ballroom dancing in the UK with the beginning of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, which potentially could have breathed new life into the venues. The main presenter Len Goodman learnt his craft in the Streatham Locarno. The first Locarno, that on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, still exists: both in its external form and as the main auditorium of The Garage, Glasgow , Scotland's biggest nightclub. The building
#35964