The last jute factory to be built in Dundee was demolished and work began on a multiplex cinema in its place 25 years ago.
A venue for entertainment and fun replaced what had been a hive of industry and a place of work.
And the final page was turned in the story of an industry that had for decades been a defining aspect of the city by the Tay.
Jute Industries Ltd acquired the site at the former Milton of Craigie Farm between Douglas Road and Longtown Street in 1953 from Dundee Corporation.
Dundee was building a number of new housing schemes on the edge of the city.
Being located beside the Mid Craigie and Douglas and Angus housing estates – within easy distance of Fintry – the site seemed like the ideal location for a future mill.
The building was demolished in 1984
Douglasfield Works opened in 1956 as the most modern jute factory in the world, producing an annual output of yarn about 14 million miles long.
However, Sidlaw Industries ceased production in 1978 as the jute industry declined and Douglasfield Works was largely demolished in March 1984.
The site was later leased by BP as a pipe storage yard until 1992 and remained vacant apart from occasional car boot sales and visits from Horne’s funfair.
A planning application for a Mecca bingo club to the north of the former jute works was approved by the council’s development quality committee in August 1997.
English-based company Federal Estates and Development bought the remaining seven acres and lodged plans for an £11 million Eclipse Leisure Park.
A multiplex cinema, fitness centre, restaurant and fast food outlets were proposed.
Odeon was signed up for the cinema.
The new cinema would become the company’s second multiplex after the six-screen Odeon at Stack Leisure Park in Lochee which opened in June 1993.
It would be the city’s third multiplex with work under way on a nine-screen Virgin cinema at the Camperdown Leisure Park with 1,852 seats.
Managing director of Federal Estates and Development Darren Essex said: “The eclipse certainly won’t bring darker days for the residents of this part of Dundee.
“The area is crying out for this kind of leisure development.”
Construction work was carried out by Tulloch Construction in September 1999.
The shell of the complex was completed by May 2000.
The interior fit out followed and the Odeon opened ahead of schedule.
Pitch Black was first movie shown at new Odeon Dundee
General manager Rodger Moon arranged a series of special previews of Pitch Black for Evening Telegraph readers ahead of the gala opening on November 10.
Pitch Black followed the traumatic experiences of marooned space travellers with more than a little gore and had customers running from the place in terror.
The 10 cinemas were equipped with the highest-quality furnishings, incorporating a drinks holder for comfort and there was a wide selection of snacks.
What would you have watched on the opening weekend?
Bedazzled with Brendan Fraser and Liz Hurley?
Jamie Bell was the boy who wouldn’t stop dancing in Jamie Elliot.
Road Trip was a raunchy comedy which shifted the boundaries of good taste.
What Lies Beneath was a supernatural horror with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford.
Dinosaur was an animated comedy for children.
The Little Vampire was a story with fangs which was based in Scotland.
The Grinch brought success to Douglasfield Odeon
But success wasn’t instant with competition fierce.
After a relatively slow start things gained momentum in December.
The Grinch stole the box office.
The Jim Carrey movie appealed to children and their parents.
Douglasfield Odeon marketing manager Colin Rawling said things would only get better and predicted 2001 would be the “greatest movie year to date”.
“It took a while to get on its feet but now we’re certainly making inroads into our local competitors – it’s going really well at the moment,” he said.
“Business was fantastic over Christmas with The Grinch and other children’s films but the problem is the product that is out at the moment.
“But next month we will have the eagerly anticipated Hannibal which will bring people in and then later in the year films like The Mummy Returns and Tomb Raider.”
Dundee strongman Brian Bell pulled in the crowds in February 2001.
He dragged a double decker bus complete with driver and passengers across the Odeon car park to mark the official opening of Just Fitness next door.
Odeon at the Stack in Lochee shut in 2001
Meanwhile, Odeon decided to throw its eggs into one basket.
It closed the multiplex at the Stack following competition from Virgin Cinema.
Things got busier at Odeon Douglasfield.
Bridget Jones’s Diary did massive business.
Spy Kids was a surprising winners with kids and adults.
The Odeon and Just Fitness organised a Lara Croft lookalike competition to mark the release of Tomb Raider with a weekend to Alton Towers for the winner.
The Mummy Returns was a summer blockbuster.
Movies like Planet of the Apes and Tomb Raider increased the momentum.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and part one of The Lord of the Rings trilogy premiered in time for Christmas 2001 with queues of young wizards.
Leanne Ritchie, duty manager at the Odeon, said demand for the Lord of the Rings film was unprecedented and described the scene as “mayhem”.
“We had a queue of roughly 150 people beating down the door this morning for the 11am showing,” she said.
Trapped kitten was named the Odeon One
The drama was not confined to the cinema.
A rescue operation began in August 2002 after the animal control unit was alerted to the sound of a kitten trapped beneath a drain at the rear of the cinema.
A decision was taken to remove concrete surrounding the pipe with a drill.
A blanket and some food were put down to entice it out.
The tiny animal, nicknamed the Odeon One, was picked up by a security guard.
He heard the kitten mewing after it emerged from the pipe after three days.
The seven week old bundle was given a new home.
The Dundee Odeon at Douglasfield was busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mouse holes.
It was the place to watch noughties blockbusters like Batman Begins, The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale, The Day After Tomorrow and Rocky Balboa.
One punter re-enacted Rocky’s iconic training montage during one screening in 2006.
He ran up the cinema steps shadow boxing against the strains of Gonna Fly Now!
Dancing in the aisles to the music of ABBA
Remember Mamma Mia in 2008?
There were queues around the block and performances sold out.
Graham Duff, manager of Odeon Douglasfield, was astounded at the Dundee audience reaction to the super trouper smash-hit musical starring Meryl Streep.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it before,” he said.
“Audiences are clapping and cheering and in some cases standing and dancing, which isn’t something we see particularly regularly.
“Long may it continue, though.
“It seems to be a genuine phenomenon.”
The romance, magic and nostalgia of going to the Odeon at Douglasfield has endured.
Film fans have been crying Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! a ticket for generations.
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