Rear of Palace Picture House 1955

Category

Library Item

Item no

21053

Title

Rear of Palace Picture House 1955

Description

The back entrance and exit of the Palace Picture House at the rear of Princes Street. The many windows in the cinema building have been covered or are blocked up. The road is cobbled in front of the deserted street is cobbled.

Artist / maker

Harper, John Campbell

Date

1955

Size

15.0 x 20.1 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 Edinburgh's cinemas past and present.

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Related subjects

Places > Edinburgh areas > Princes Street

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Cinemas