Originally The Norwood

101 St. George's Road, Woodlands

Opened: June 1936
Closed: 1981

Designed by: Laird and Napier

Number of screens: 1
Number of seats: 1200

Behind the eccentric nature was an astute businessman who by all accounts was also well - liked. AE Pickard died in a house fire in 1964 at the age of 84.

Never a great success, in 1945 The Norwood was sold to George Palmer's Associated GP Cinemas who renamed it The George and ran it, until December 1955 when it became part of the ABC circuit, at which point the Forth Bridge was removed.

ABC ran Charing Cross for twenty years, closing it in September 1975 with it reopening shortly after as Dreamland, a cinema specialising in Asian films. In 1981 it finally closed as a cinema and has been a snooker club since.

The Norwood Ballroom, a former villa in St.George's Road was a ballroom and dance school from 1921 until 1936 when it was converted by eccentric Yorkshire showman AE Pickard and opened as The Norwood cinema in June of 1936 -declared open by Pickard charging the doors with a battering ram from the opposite side of the road !

Among its unusual features The Norwood's auditorium was covered in glass and mirrors, a tapestry was glued to the ceiling and a large model of the Forth Bridge adorned the canopy.

One of the best - known Glasgow showmen, Yorkshire born Albert Ernest Pickard opened a number of cinemas throughout Glasgow including the White Elephant in Shawlands and the Panopticon in Trongate. Property deals were the main source of Pickard's wealth which he displayed by, amongst other things, buying eight limousines, a private aircraft and a Kilmarnock edition of the works of Burns which went on show in the foyer of The Norwood.