Broadway Cinema

Friends of the Broadway Prestwick

Restoration of Art Deco cinema to benefit the whole community

Category C

Dating back to 1935, the Broadway Cinema is a surviving example of Scotland’s golden age of cinema. To this day, the Art Deco building retains some unusual and important features, including timber panelling in many areas, decorative stepped panelling to the auditorium, and a unique camel design on the air vents. The projection room also appears as a time capsule, with reels and equipment remaining in the same spot as when they were last used. The last film was shown in 1976, after which the building was put to many uses, including a leisure centre, amusement arcade and squash courts.

Friends of the Broadway Prestwick was set up to identify a way to bring the building back into meaningful use. The plans have since developed to include a cinema, a multi-purpose entertainment venue, and an inclusive dementia-friendly space that will benefit the whole community.

The AHF has supported the Friends of the Broadway Prestwick with a number of small grants to test and explore ideas of how best to use the Broadway Cinema, and to enable them to make the case to the Scottish Land Fund to allow them to purchase the building from the private owner. Two Historic Environment Scotland-supported Project Viability Grants were made in 2018 and 2021, as well as a William Grant Foundation Tailored Support Fund grant in 2023 towards emergency roof repairs.

The Broadway Cinema was successfully brought into community ownership in December 2023. Further, thanks to additional funding for a Project Development Officer, the next phase of planning and development can now begin, bringing the project to restore this iconic building one step closer to reality.

https://www.friendsofthebroadwayprestwick.com/

AHF Funding

Project Viability Grant - £4,721 (2018)

Project Viability Grant - £5,000 (2021)

Tailored Support Fund Project Development Grant - £5,000 (2023)

Project Development Grant - £12,375 (2024)

Photo Credits

Gordon Barr

Gemma of Esther Morgan Photograph