Plan submitted to demolish Glasgow's fire-ravaged O2 ABC building
- Published
Plans have been submitted to the council for the O2 ABC to be demolished
Plans have been submitted to demolish the O2 ABC in Glasgow, BBC Scotland understands.
The music venue was severely damaged when fire broke out in June 2018 at the neighbouring Glasgow School of Art building for a second time.
The art school was undergoing a £35m restoration project at the time after first being gutted by fire in 2014.
During the ABC's 144-year history it has been a diorama theatre, a circus, a dancehall and a cinema.
On 15 June last year the O2 ABC building and the category A-listed building art school were destroyed by fire.
All the floors and the roof of the school, designed by architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, were destroyed leaving just the outer shell of the building.
That has been encased in scaffolding for more than six months.
Shows due to take place at O2 ABC were immediately cancelled following the fire and future gigs rescheduled to other venues including to the O2 Academy Glasgow, The Garage, Glasgow and the Barrowland Ballroom.
The distinctive turquoise roof of the O2 ABC is easily recognisable in aerial images
The roof of the O2 ABC collapsed in as a result of fire
The O2 ABC, which opened in 1875, has had a long history.
By 1888 it became one of the first buildings in Glasgow to be fitted with electricity and in 1896 was the site of Glasgow's first public film.
Construction work on the art school began next to the entertainment venue in 1899.
As well has being a cinema venue it has been home to a dance hall, a circus, a pub and restaurant and an ice skating rink.
The O2 ABC building was first built as a diorama theatre in 1875
- Published19 June 2018
