GRAND PICTURE THEATRE

Evening Star, Issue 21284, 13 December 1932, Page 2

GRAND PICTURE THEATRE

The transformation of the old Grand Picture Palace into a modern “ talkie ” theatre is proceeding at a remarkably rapid pace. Only a fortnight has elapsed since the Love Construction Company secured the contract, and yet the most difficult half of the reconstruction has been effected. All of- the shops and fittings which were built on the Princes street frontage a . few months ago have been cleared away, and the back portion of the floor, which was 6ft below the shop floors, has been raised and constructed to form a gradual slope from the back of the theatre to the stage. The upper gallery, which was originally built at an extraordinarily steep grade, has been lowered Bft at the back, and numerous openings in the walls have been bricked up and the whole building prepared for theatre fittings. Complete new seating is to he installed to accommodate 830 people, while a simple and uniform colour scheme is to ho applied to the finished wall surfaces. The value of such alteration jobs in relieving the plight of local tradesmen is revealed by the fact that approximately forty men have been engaged almost continuously since the work began.