Gateway Theatre (Edinburgh)

The Gateway Theatre (built as the New Edinburgh Veterinary College) was a Grade C listed building in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on Elm Row at the top of Leith Walk.

The building was purpose-built by George Beattie and Sons in 1882 for the relocated New Veterinary College (not to be confused with the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, which is still extant, elsewhere in the city). In 1904, the College vacated the building, with a professor and eleven students relocating to the veterinary faculty at Liverpool. The college buildings were sold to William Perry in 1908, who then applied for a roof to be built over the courtyard to create a roller-skating rink.

Perry's rink did not last long and the building was converted again in 1910, by architect Ralph Pringle, into a cinema known as Pringle's New Picture Palace. It was also for a period in 1929-30 known as The Atmospheric.

When the cinema closed in the 1930s, the building was used as a theatre by an amateur dramatics group. During this time, it was known as Millicent Ward's Studio Theatre and the Festival Theatre, before being renamed the Broadway in 1938. Shortly after the war, the premises were gifted to the Church of Scotland who formed their own repertory theatre company based in the venue. The building re-opened as a theatre in 1946, with seating for 542. This was the first time it became known as The Gateway. It was a venue at the first edition of what would become the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, hosting the Pilgrim Players who performed two T.S. Eliot plays, The Family Reunion and Murder in the Cathedral.

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