The Railway Institute was, for many years, the focal point of entertainment in Glencoe. Greg Roberts, writing on the Facebook page ‘I used to Live in Glencoe’, said he has no idea when the Institute was built (in Biggar Street North) but his first memory was when his father returned from World War ll in mid-1945. “He resumed his job at SA Railways at the ticket office in Glencoe.
For a fairly nominal sum, one could join the Railway institute and use its facilities, including the library, and it appears that membership was open to all. The building also housed the bug-house (cinema) – as it was affectionately dubbed.”
He remembers the large hall being filled with simple wooden chairs, and the films were shown on a screen about three metres square hung on the wall. “The hall was unheated and in winter got somewhat cold. Movies were initially shown twice a week – on a Wednesday afternoon and evening, as well as Saturday afternoon and evening, usually lasting about two hours to two and a half.”
Children once queued in wait for the door to be unlocked for Saturday afternoon movies.
With the introduction of cinema-scope, new and modern arc projectors were installed and one could swap the lenses for normal movies or for cinema-scope movies, which were still rare at the time… so there was a special show once a month on a Monday night, where admission was a little more expensive.
“The very first one shown was ‘The High and the Mighty’ with John Wayne. Another early cinema-scope movie was ‘Blood and Sand’. Around 1953, the then principal of the new high school decreed that high school students would be punished if they attended the Wednesday afternoon cinema shows. Naturally, I was one of the first to be punished and I remember receiving two strokes of the principal’s stick!”
Greg, who now lives in Cape Town, told the Courier that in the early days, a short film was shown with music, ‘God Save the King’, when King George VI stood in front of the Union Jack. This must have been around 1947.
“The Institute also hosted the annual Christmas ‘party’. Parents paid in a sum of money to the Institute and my father would then go to Durban to one of the big toy shops and buy toys, etc. It was reasonably successful, but obviously could not please everyone. All kids of the same age got the same present.” Dawie Viljoen also has an old memory of the bug-house.
“Ek het die eerste keer agt-jaar-oud in 1952 die bioskoop soos ons dit genoem het ontdek.Toegang 8 pennies. Dan koop ek so ‘n klein botteltjie Coke vit ‘n tiekie en die pennie wat oorbly twee taai Wilsontoffies wat jou lank kon besig hou.” Des Gouws, who now lives in The Hague but grew up in Glencoe, has more recent memories from the 1980s. “So sad to see these photos of decay. I can’t believe it is the same place where kids stood in long queues waiting for the door to be unlocked for Saturday afternoon movies.
“Later on, around 1985 / 86, it was also used as a venue for high school kids’ “sokkie aand”. Even the Dundonians came to attend. “50 cents got you a ticket, cold drink, chips and a packet of mixed sweets. “I remember my dad dressing up in a sports jacket to go and watch a cowboy movie. If I recall correctly, it was ‘Paint Your Wagon’.
He recalls that the Institute closed around 1988. It was used for private companies for a short while, but that did not work out and the grand old solid brick building closed for good. Left to the elements, the hall quickly fell victim to vagrants.
The floor of the cinema hall has been ripped out and filled with domestic rubbish. The rest of the building is a ‘no go’ zone, with Transnet having the foresight to put up a sign that says ‘Danger – keep out’.
A sad indictment of a place where many queued for hours in the hope of seeing a movie and perhaps treating a girlfriend to an ice-cream.
The cinema hall has suffered the dire consequences of neglect…
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