A Stroll round 1960s Saltcoats

[Meg]

Mrs Kemp the dancing teacher in Saltcoats used to have her dancing displays there in the late 50s, early 60s.

Meg

[down south]

Thanks, all of you. I must confess that as a child of the sixties , when they'd really gone except for the odd one-off at the cinemas, I've been quite surprised to discover that Saltcoats had such a tradition of summer shows with visiting entertainers, and that the Pavilion was specially built for putting them on. And of course it hosted local shows as well; for another example, it was a favourite venue for the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Players in their prime. And by the by , I've just discovered in that article about them I've linked to, mention of them appearing there as far back as 1928, which confirms it must have been built before then.

Some more long-vanished summer season names here , listed in some late 1940s Herald Files reports; I've never heard of them but there may possibly be some readers with whom they strike a chord :

"June 1947. Saltcoats Pavilion was officially reopened on Monday by Provost Reid , before the first performance by Mr G. B. Bowie's Saltcoats Entertainers. The talented company include Jimmy Benson, Tony Wood, Clark and Murray, and many more. "

" September 1949. The resident company at Saltcoats Beach Pavilion, led by Jimmie Donoghue and Jimmy Ramsay, end their season this weekend, and will be followed by the St Andrew's Entertainers , featuring comedian Alf Johnstone. "

By the way,the Pavilion may have been closed during the war, but it wasn't idle; instead it was pressed into use for important war work I've seen several suggestions of what this was. Hughie very recently mentioned the possibility that it was a signals intercept station; while I've also read elsewhere that it was a cartographic centre engaged in producing maps for the D-Day landings among other things. Could well even have been both.

Susan

[Penny Tray]

Susan,

Does this photo suggest that the Beach Pavilion wasn't built before 5 November 1926?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nayesterdays/6347414532/

[westendcafe]

I don't remember any of the shows at the Pavilion but I do remember the act Clark and Murray possibly from summer shows or pantos elsewhere.

Looking at the photo of Sidney Street the Pavilion could have been there and it was just a foggy day

John

[down south]

Looks as though you could well be right, PT; today's Apollo , on the same site, is certainly standing foursquare in the same view on Streetview today. So we're narrowing it down pretty well, because on this showing they hadn't even started building it at that point. Unless of course the flood had washed it all away again....

Good to take another look at that picture, because I hadn't noticed before the sign on the wall at right reading Pleasure Grounds; we're right by the little entry lane there, though you can't see it. And the flags above the houses are probably flying there too. Wonder if the Pleasure Grounds had in fact been in use back before the new putting and bowling greens were opened in the early 1920s ? because the sign looks rather faded to have been put up only that recently.

Susan

[Penny Tray]

Susan,

Poaching from one of your own posts in which you quoted from the A&S Herald, the Pavilion was obviously up and running on the 31st of May 1928 when the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Players returned from America with the Belasco Cup:-

"There was an official welcome at South Beach Green, Ardrossan, with numerous speeches and dancing; and in the Beach Pavilion, Saltcoats....."

Unless we've got it wrong therefore the Pavilion would appear to have been built between 5 November 1926 and 31 May 1928.

Unless you've got something secretly hidden away in your vast library of facts, I can't understand why there doesn't appear to be any public record of the 'opening'.

[little plum]

Bringing the pavilion forward to the 60's, now I might get slated for this, but I seem to remember it being a roller rink/rollerama in the early or mid 60's

[morag]

I remember it as a Disco for a while.

[oilers]

The Pavilion also housed tenpin bowling for a number of years starting very late 50' s and that was my hangout

[Milda]

Yes I remember the bowling and the disco.

[sweet caroline]

Bringing the pavilion forward to the 60's, now I might get slated for this, but I seem to remember it being a roller rink/rollerama in the early or mid 60's

Remember an outdoor roller skating ring in 1966.Also frequented the tinpin bowling at the Pavilion around 61/63 ,also had a cafe at that time.

sweet caroline

[Penny Tray]

Just for the record, Norman McLain, a native of Detroit, secured a 10 year lease of the Beach Pavilion from Saltcoats Town Council on 11 July 1960 at a cost of £245 per year to run a bowling alley. However, he was always at pains to call it a Family Bowling Centre as opposed to a Bowling Alley. Apparently "nine pin bowling alleys" had a bad name in the United States, having become "dens of iniquity" and had actually been outlawed by the Government at one time. A 10th pin had only been added to circumvent the laws applying to the original game and alleys.

The Pavilion had 6 lanes; 3 feet 6 inches wide; 62 feet 10 and 3/8 inches long; and each had an approach area measuring 16 feet.

The alley at Saltcoats was the first in Scotland and the fourth in the United KIngdom.