| Bridgeton Public Halls |
photo courtesy of © Gordon
Adams |
Brigton's Public Halls
at the junction of
London Rd and Summer St.
The halls were built in 1928 and well used but sadly the
former tenements and the Halls were demolished in the 1970s..... for
're-development'
The City Improvement Trust
began clearing old overcrowded properties and replaced them with modern tenements.
I have no idea why the Halls were included for demolition in the re-development.
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1933 aerial photograph
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I attended these halls on many occasions as the school took us there to see
plays and the Bridgeton Burns Club schools poetry & song competitions.
Bridgeton Burns Club, founded in 1870 became the largest in the world,
with 1400 members, and it sponsored competitions in local schools for the
recitation and singing of the bards works.
I also remember going to the Caledonian accordion band concerts, under the leadership of Billy McPhee,
in these halls and at these concerts a wee lass called Marie
Lawrie used to belt out her favourite songs, she went on to become the
famous Scots singer Lulu!
I loved these concerts and they were always a sell-out.
The halls were finally demolished during redevelopment in the seventies and the site is now
landscaped.
See picture below........
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London Road at the junction of Summer Street, with Olympia Street in the
background.
The Bridgeton Public Hall buildings has been long replaced by trees! I am
afraid the
City Fathers got it wrong again...big time! And those wonderful halls are
no more......
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Bridgeton Cross looking east along Olympia Street.
The Bridgeton Public Hall building has been long replaced by trees!
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Extract from e-mail;
Ron McPhee, August 2002,
"Are they any photographs around of
Bridgeton Public Halls where I frequented regularly to see The Jimmy
Barnes Rock & Roll Band this being around the early sixties?"
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