Building history In November 1929
ABC opened its flagship cinema. The architect who designed the building was named: CJ McNair. As this was to be ABC's flagship cinema it also seated a total of 2,359 people. The cinema was a conversion from an older building. The building was originally built in 1875 as the Diorama. In 1878 it was renamed as the Panorama. When the circus was not putting on shows the building was used once again for the purpose of showing films to the public. In 1927 the building reverted into the function it was originally built for, a dance hall. The building consisted of a ground floor car park while the second floor was the main dance hall.
Cinema When the dancehall was renovated in 1929 the building retained the majority of its original architecture. the roof structure, the ground level of the building remained the car park while the dance floor became the stalls of the cinema. The ground level also had a small entrance area that consisted of 2 box-offices. The main entrance of the cinema was reached by the twin staircase; which is still there today, as well as the option of two lifts to use. The actual
auditorium; which consisted of seats on ground level and above, with balconies overlooking the stage, seated a total of 2359 people. In 1967 the building was renamed to "ABC 1" as there was an extension added onto the building which was named "ABC 2"; The ABC 2 housed a much smaller 922 people. The ABC 2 was the first cinema to open in Scotland since
World War II had ended. The building also contained a fully licensed bar. In 1979 the main building (ABC1) closed to undergo a
renovation into a four-screen cinema. Each of these screens seated: 906, 306, 206 and 192 people. The renovated building opened its doors to the public on 13 December 1979. The four-screen building closed on 29 October 1998, while the other building closed on 12 October 1999.
Music venue David McBride from Regular Music spotted a gap in the market for a music venue of this size in Glasgow. A major interior conversion project of the former ABC1 cinema building was started in 2002 and then in 2005 the fit-out was completed. In 2009, the
Academy Music Group took a majority stake in the venue, rebranding it the O2 ABC.
Events The building hosted regular events in the form of live music performances and
nightclub parties. O2 ABC Glasgow turned into a
nightclub venue for three events during the week names; Jellybaby, Propaganda and Love Music.
Damage The building was extensively damaged by fire over the night of 15–16 June 2018. The fire spread from the adjacent
Glasgow School of Art. A building warrant application was made to Glasgow City Council in February 2019 for demolishing the entire building. ==Venue structure==