New Picture House, Princes Street 1955

Category

Library Item

Item no

21058

Title

New Picture House, Princes Street 1955

Description

The grand entrance to the former New Picture House on Princes Street in Edinburgh is incongruously sited in the middle of shop frontages and bay windows. There are canopies over some of the shops and the Royal Hotel occupies the block above ground level. People browsing in shop windows and waiting at the bus stop are clearly seen, whilst others have become a blur of movement on the street.

Artist / maker

Harper, John Campbell

Date

1955

Size

21.2 x 15.8 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

In the fifties, cinema faced competition from the small screen in the home: television. In 1955, cinema admissions in the UK were 1,182 million compared to 1,635 million in 1946. Cinema makers introduced new technologies and novelty factors to attract audiences back to the big screen. Wide-screen and enhanced colour were developed and 3-D cinema was a short-lived phenomenon where audience members had to wear special glasses. Even Smell-o-vision, where scents were pumped into the auditorium, was trialled.
Find out more about the New Picture House

Exhibitions with this item

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Business > Service industry > Shops

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Cinemas

Transport > Infrastructure > Bus stops