So, I have a *slight* interest in old cinema buildings, and buildings adapted for film use over the years. That’s the hobby. I might have mentioned cinemas before, once or twice, just in passing.

My day job is now working for the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust on the heritage side of things. 

So imagine my interest when, looking at some old plans of the Burgh Halls from 1944, I find the following interesting detail…

Yep, it looks like at some point the Halls had been kitted out for cinema showings.

Of course, question was if these plans were merely intended works, or something that had actually happened. The interior of the Halls is almost unrecognisable today from how it must have been in the 1940s; that section of the building behind the balcony has been chopped and changed a lot. That back wall and landing entrance are still there though.

Could there be any evidence remaining to show if a projection box was once there ? Well, as it turns out, yes 🙂

Just to the right of the doors at the rear of the balcony, at exactly the right position it would need to be in to match the plans, is what appears to be a section of masonry in quite a lighter colour to the rest – exactly where a long filled-in porthole to project through would have been. It even looks like there might have been two openings – one larger, one smaller.

More research is needed obviously (did it have a cinematograph license?) but it does look like I’ll need to add Maryhill Burgh Halls to the Scottish Cinemas Database now!