Cineworld Renfrew Street

Opened as a UGC Cinema in 2001, this peculiar cinema tower stands in a spot with some cinematic history of its own. Green’s Playhouse opened here in 1927, and the entertainment complex included a ballroom and cinema screen.

That original building was demolished in 1987, and its 21st-century replacement had something of a rough start. Before its opening, the building had already gained infamy as one of Glasgow’s “ugliest” buildings. Some redemption would come two years later when it was said to have had the most admissions of any U.K. cinema.

The Guinness Record it holds states its height at 62 meters with 12 floors. Eighteen screens and 4,277 seats complete the statistics, although some of these numbers might be outdated since they pre-date the cinema’s rebranding and remodeling as a Cineworld in 2005.

With little more than two decades since its opening, this Renfrew Street complex’s short history has already found itself challenged by the COVID-19-induced bankruptcy of Cineworld. Only time will tell if it manages to overcome this and have a run similar to that of the preceding Green’s entertainment venue.