Photo of the sad demise of the Futurist theatre, Scarborough.

Taken yesterday.
Used to go there in the 1960s, loads of memories.

 

Saw it the other week, it's a real shame. Flamingo Land building on the same site won't be as good. An indoor theatre should still be viable at the seaside, as it's not like the open air theatre can host gigs all year round. That part of Yorkshire is absolutely booming. Anywhere you drive past be it Scarborough, Bridlington, or Whitby has new builds being worked on in vast numbers. The biggest probably being at Middle Deepdale near Seamer, which is like a brand new village being worked on. Bridlington seafront has a new Premier Inn that opened just a few months ago, with a fancy restaurant at the side of it called Cookhouse. It's a real shame all that history. Then again the arcades aren't what they used to be to draw more tourists in and many of the cafes start to think about closing around half three if you want tea out.

 

Should never have been allowed to be torn down.

 

Was lucky enough to see The Pixies there in 1991, still one of the best gigs ever.

 

Are u joking it was a complete dump,an eyesore and it stunk it should have come down years ago

 

Have you ever seen photos of the building without the hideous yellow cladding which was easily removable?

 

So many problems with land stability behind it as well. If you saw it right now there are houses, apartments and shops clinging to the hillside at the back. Makes you wonder how some of them have actually survived.
That apart there have been three theatres close within living memory, the Futurist, the Opera House and the Floral Hall, all of which used to be very, very popular. I remember full houses to see star line ups every year.
And then foreign package holidays came along !

 

My then-gf was a student in Scarborough at the time. She came home, saw the big poster on my bedroom door (that had been there for all the time she'd been visiting) and said "Oh, they played Scarborough last week. Why didn't you come and see them?". First I'd heard of that gig but I did see them in Sheffield on that tour.

 

We will never know the ins and outs of the problems with the building. If you look at pictures of the inside it was a great venue. Never been personally but I have been to the Spa theatre in Bridlington and that does very well. Maybe if the Futurist would have been looked after more then it could have done as well as the Spa, we'll never know. Its a huge shame.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/albums/72157630902356518

 

Not quite as simple as that.

The original stone facade behind the cladding, was damaged and partially removed to allow the newer cladding over the top of it all then years ago.

This was beyond reasonable repair now and was in a poor state, hence why the cladding has Always remained. It was cladded over originally too, as back then it wasn’t looking great close up.

Inside the theatre has always looked well - it was always the externals that let it down. But costs to improve the cladding were prohibitive.

This coupled with high running costs, a few structural issues and declining revenue meant there was no other option. Like many old buildings, it’s difficult to make them pay.

Old pictures of it showing it looking great - but I have seen images of it from close up when the cladding was being fitted - and it was looking poor back then.

 

I saw The Beatles there. That’s true. And the Dave Clark 5.

 

Scarborough is a sad place now.
The shops.are typical of the area. Either boarded up or charity shops or bookies or ecig shops.
Even the Grand hotel is a shadow of its former self. Probably one of the cheapest places to stop and poorly maintained.

 

Scarborough is booming with new houses being built everywhere, open air theatre busier than ever even getting Britney Spears there soon. It's missing some prize bingo for the pensioners and day trippers (and occasionally me) as it used to have five and now has just one and it's up the back street slope, so nothing on the seafront. Cafes apart from drinks or cakes start shutting at around half three but has nice places like Le Jardin.

Very true about Grand Hotel and I agree with all the bad reviews on Trip Advisor. The plus points being it's next to Stairway To The Sea and Scarborough Flyer. It still looks really good from the outside, but inside it's a tip nobody should ever book to stay at.

 

However I do enjoy the Spa.

Was at an audience with Brian Blessed there earlier this year.

Lovely intimate venue.