1073 Argyle Street, Finnieston

Opened: May 12th 1930
Closed: 1959

Designed by: Albert V Gardner and William Glen

Number of screens: 1
Number of seats: 1957

The fate of The Kelvin was sealed in August 2004 when, at a Glasgow City Council planning meeting it was decided that The Kelvin "had reached the end of its useful lifespan" and approval was granted for demolition of the building and erection of an eight story block of flats with a restaurant on the ground floor, by May 2005, the demolition company had moved in and by mid July the building was a pile of rubble.

The Kelvin opened in May 1930 at the Finnieston end of Argyle Street. The design was by Albert V. Gardner and William Glen, and was their last collaboration prior to William Glen's departure to become ABCs head of design, the exterior of plain concrete contained a mix of roof levels and an octagonal tower at the east end of the building and the unusual design was mirrored by the atmospheric interior which featured a Turkish mosque to the left of the screen and a Spanish scene to the right.

ABCs John Maxwell was on the board of Kelvin Cinemas and it was ABC who initially booked the Kelvin's films, however In 1931 George Taylor bought the cinema outright and without the buying power of ABC, Taylor struggled to find good quality films and it became increasingly difficult to fill the Kelvin's 1957 seats.

The Kelvin closed in 1959 and changed hands a number of times. As a sports arena it promoted wrestling matches, especially popular on ITVs World of Sport in the 60s. Mecca ran it as bingo and during the 80s it was popular as a night club and finally as the Creme de la Creme curry house.