King's
Theatre, Glasgow
Architect
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Frank Matcham
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Date
Built
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1903 - 1904
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Location
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Bath Street
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Description
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Described as Edwardian Baroque
in style, this Category A Listed building
on Bath Street in Glasgow is a creation of
the famous theatre architect Frank
Matcham. The listing information
described it as an, "... Important
theatre with outstanding interior.
Polished red sandstone ashlar. 7
irregular bays with curving lower
domed angle bay to Elmbank Street.
Wide 2nd and 5th bays, flanked by
broad channelled pilasters with
medallions. Entrance in 2nd bay, dummy
entrance in 5th; semi-circular arches
above with recessed windows; shallow
bowed and pilastered arched tripartite
windows above capped with balustrade;
bold, ball finials over pilasters;
recessed pediments behind main body of
theatre. Entrance bays flanked by
narrow bays. 2 central bays with large
recessed, multi-pane 1st floor windows
and curved balconies; parapet with
urns."
The theatre opened on September 12, 1904 at a
cost of £50,000 commissioned by the theatre
owning and production company, Howard &
Wyndham Limited. "At the King's
in Glasgow there is a lavish marble lined
entrance foyer with a barrel-vaulted
coffered ceiling and this leads onto the
highly decorative auditorium. The
plasterwork in the auditorium is modelled
in fibrous plaster, a Matcham speciality,
which allowed for more sculptural three
dimensional forms to be created. The three
tiers of horseshoe-shaped balconies are
cutting edge in their cantilevered
construction method as this allowed for an
unobstructed view of the stage and also
created more space for paying customers.
When built the King's had seating capacity
for 1,841."
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