A CENTURY of cinema in Galashiels is about to be celebrated this spring.

And the owners of the Pavilion are hoping local film fans will share their memories as part of a special 100-years gallery.

Originally opened as the Playhouse in May, 1920, the much-loved picture house later became the Capital, then the Kingsway, before eventually being renamed the Pavilion.

Andrew Poole, who has been involved with the Galashiels cinema since he was just nine, has been co-manager of the Pavilion since 1993.

He told us: "For the past 26 years we have been honoured to have had the support of over two and a half million customers.

"But for the 74 years before our tenure, there would have been many millions more.

"Of course, most of the customers from the 1920s will sadly no longer be with us, but there are bound to be many thousands of Borderers who did visit this wonderful building, and who continued to see films here through the 1930s all the way up to present day.

"Watching a film in the cinema is an inclusive, emotional, positive experience and those memories stay with you forever.

"We’d like to tap into those memories and feature them at the Pavilion.

"So the plan is to create a Memories Are Made At The Movies gallery within the cinema to feature people’s experiences.

"We’re reaching out to everyone who remembers visiting the Pavilion, or when it was called the Playhouse, Capital, or the Kingsway."

As well as the cinema experience, the prominent building at the bottom of Channel Street has also included a theatre, bingo hall, retail outlets, a nightclub and a bar.

Fellow manager of the family business, Neil Poole, hopes customers will come forward with their memories.

He said: "When it was first built, the Playhouse, as it was then, was a theatre and a cinema.

"It ran as a multi purpose building for many years and even had retail units on the ground floor, much like it has today, and a dance hall on the first floor.

"The main auditorium of the building initially had a stalls and a balcony area.

"In the 1950s the balcony was extended out to create a separate bingo hall in the former stalls underneath a new main cinema screen.

"At the same time, a wall was built closing off an enormous area which was previously a backstage area for raising and dropping scenery for the theatre.

"This area was left to gather dust and cobwebs, undisturbed for 40 odd years until the extensive refurbishment and expansion in 1994 to 1995.

"At that time screens 2 and 3 were created within this blocked off area. And a fourth screen was created out of the area where the former Digby’s nightclub was.

"There’s no doubt this building has a rich and interesting history and we look forward to hearing about that from cinema patrons over the years.”

The Pavilion will celebrate its centenary in May.

To share memories or photographs go to the cinema's website at www.pavilioncinema.co.uk/memories