ODEON Ayr Projection Equipment Donations

We are delighted to formally announce the donation of decommissioned projection and sound equipment from ODEON Ayr!

All of us at Friends of the Broadway Prestwick were incredibly sad to hear the news of the ODEON's closure. A longstanding neighbour of the Broadway and the local cinema to our communities for generations, the cinema's closure represented a great loss for South Ayrshire. With ODEON's departure, the still in situ 35mm projection equipment and long disused speakers became surplus to requirements and therefore expendable.

Thankfully, with the incredible help and support of ODEON engineer and former projectionist Colin Butler, we were able to save the equipment for use or display in the Broadway Cinema of the future! The collection saved today encompasses everything needed to run 35mm film, meaning the Broadway is now officially 35mm capable!

The projector saved from Screen 4 is a Rank RK60, a rebranded model of a Cinemeccanica Victoria 8, which is now temporarily standing beside our Victoria 5 collected from Thurso last week! We have also collected four JBL and Altec speakers to be repaired, a functional Christie Autowind 3 rewind system, long forgotten 35mm film reels, several splicers, joiners, and frame counters, and photographs and memorabilia from the ODEON's past!

Our official photographer and filmmaker, Gemma from Esther Morgan Photography, was with us on our journey today, and more behind-the-scenes images and clips will be released in the near future! We are incredibly grateful to have the opportunities that we do. ODEON Ayr meant a great deal to so many members of our project, and to be able to save small pieces of its history to preserve in the Broadway for future generations is a remarkable opportunity and one we undertake with the utmost care and respect.

The equipment will imminently be moved to a safe storage unit elsewhere in Ayrshire, returning to the Broadway when the time is right. It can then be brought back to life to entertain our communities once more! We all still wish for a bright future for ODEON Ayr, and strongly believe in the viability of the cinema moving forward. For now, we would once again like to thank Colin and the team at ODEON for making this possible and look forward to developing a collaborative partnership in the years to come!

Keeping our cinema heritage alive!