On the evening of Wednesday 25th November 1914, Blantyre children packed into the former Caldwell Hall on Glasgow Road for a magic lantern show treat!

Constructed in 1900, the tall building once sat at the corner of Glasgow Road and Auchinraith Road and the spacious hall inside (being used then as a Gospel Hall) was the venue that particular winter’s evening.

The subject of the slideshow was “The Life of Christ” but such was the novelty of the Lantern show itself, that a crowded audience of over 200 children turned up. They listened to speaker David Christian with great interest.

Truth be told, many children who turned up could not fit into the building, and were turned away, told to go home. David, not wanting to let anybody down, decided to host the whole event again the following Wednesday.

Lantern shows were a precursor to early cinemas and as various other similar events of the era show, were always popular with children and adults alike.