White faience, stepped geometry and an abstracted classical pediment announce a 1,750-seat Art Deco cinema whose auditorium retains important decorative fabric.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1935–1936; cinema closed 1974
- Architect / designer
- John McKissack and Son
- Type
- Art Deco cinema with auditorium and flanking shops
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB50139)
- OS grid reference
- NS 61205 61660
Architecture and continuing use
The entrance front steps towards its centre above four recessed doorways and a curved canopy. White tiles cover the façade, with truncated fluted columns and a bracketed pediment translating classical forms into Art Deco geometry. Behind, a brick auditorium retains its balcony, proscenium, foyer stair and curved ceiling.
Its story
James McKissack designed the Vogue for cinema proprietor George Singleton in 1935, and it opened in January 1936 before Odeon acquired it. Film use ended in 1974, after which the building became a bingo hall. That operation later closed permanently; a 2025 notice concerned repairs to the listed Main Street façade.
Why it is included
Category C listing recognises a prominent and unusually detailed interwar cinema whose exterior and substantial interior survive despite changes of entertainment use.
What to notice
- The stepped white-faience entrance rising above the curved canopy.
- Abstracted columns and the central Art Deco pediment.
- The tapered auditorium volume extending behind the shops.
Reading the surroundings
Treat the main building as closed unless a current owner or operator advertises access. Do not enter through adjacent shops or service areas, and observe any building-work barriers.
Timeline
- January 1936 The 1,750-seat Vogue welcomed its first cinema audience.
- 1974 Regular film exhibition ended after nearly four decades.
- 2005 The building was listed while operating as a bingo hall.
- 2025 A statutory notice recorded proposed repairs to the Main Street elevation.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Closure evidence supports the end of bingo use, but the building’s longer-term reuse is not settled here. The occupation of individual shop units may change.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Former Vogue Cinema, LB50139 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and architectural interest.
- Trove designation: LB50139 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
- The Gazette: façade-repair notice, 58 Main Street — Current statutory planning evidence for repair proposals at the listed building.
- Bingotastic: Mecca Rutherglen closure record — Current specialist directory evidence that the former bingo operation is permanently closed.
Location
OS grid reference NS 61205 61660 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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