The lost buildings that were once an important part of our capital city
CARDIFF is a city with a long and proud past.
Inhabited for thousands of years and with parts of the city dating back to Roman times, it’s a place where the layers of history are clear to see on every street corner.
This is arguably most obvious in the buildings that have appeared and disappeared throughout the city’s lifetime.
When Cardiff rose to prominence as one of the most important port cities in the world during the nineteenth century, buildings rose up across the city so that people could live, socialise, shop, eat, drink and enjoy leisure activities.
If you wander through the city today, you can still see many of these buildings, almost unchanged by time.
However, many others are now only a distant memory - only visible in black and white photographs, having made way for newer, more modern developments.
Here are some of the most prominent buildings of Cardiff that have been lost to time.
Evan Roberts department store
The son of a farmer, Evan Roberts came to Cardiff in 1890 after already making a small fortune in Swansea.
His shop on the corner of Kingsway targeted the wives of coal and shipping magnates in the city, their carriages rolling down from Park Place or Cathedral Road, referred to as “the carriage trade.”
Today, the building has been replaced and is now home to Pizza Hut, Santander and 39 Desserts.
Old fire station
Westgate Street is one of Cardiff city centre’s grandest streets, with its elegant Victorian architecture lining either side.
However, there are a few noticeable gaps where other eras have crept in some arguably fitting in better than others.
One example is the NCP car park building, which sits on the corner of Quay Street opposite Tiny Rebel.
Until it was demolished in the 1970s, this site was home to the imposing former fire station, built in the early 20th century.
However, when the fire service moved to its new home opposite the prison, the fire station was torn down and replaced.
Capitol Theatre
One of Cardiff ’s many lost theatres and arts venues, the Capitol Theatre was once a thriving entertainment hub.
Built in 1921, it could seat over 3,000 people, with artists including Tom Jones, Queen, The Beatles and Bob Dylan performing there over the years.
The Capitol was a massive venue, and had three restaurants, a ballroom, a bar and a banqueting hall in addition to its main auditorium.
However, it closed its doors for the
final time in 1978 and was torn to the ground in 1983. Today, the Capital Centre occupies the site where it once stood.
Queen Street station
The first station to open near the current station was the Taff Vale railway station, which was constructed in 1840. However, this original building was demolished and the first railway station by the name of “Cardiff Queen Street” opened in 1887.
Meanwhile, in 1858, another station opened just around the corner, which was later renamed as Cardiff Parade.
These two stations merged in 1928, creating one large Queen Street station. However, the Victorian frontage and booking hall were demolished by British Rail in 1973, as part of its modernisation of the station.
Cory Hall
Cory Memorial Temperance Hall was built around 1900 by John Cory as a memorial to his late father Richard Cory and presented to Cardiff’s temperance societies, who promoted teetotalism as a way of life.
Built at a cost of around £5,000, it stood next to another elegant building, the YMCA, on Station Terrace.
However, when plans to develop the area around Queen Street began to unfold in the 1970s, Cory Hall was demolished.
Cardiff Arms Park
The history of the Arms Park dates back to the nineteenth century, when the park behind the Cardiff Arms Hotel began to be used as a venue for sporting events.
By the 1870s, Cardiff cricket club used the ground to the north, while a rugby ground was built to the south.
However, by the 1930s, the cricket pavilion was sacrificed to make way for further development of the new north stand. The original south ground was replaced by the National Stadium in the 1970s, which was itself replaced by the Millennium Stadium.
The Gower Hotel
The Gower Hotel on Gwennyth Street in Cathays was built in around 1895.
The pub, owned by Brains, closed in August 2014 after the brewery said a “steady decline” over a number of years had meant it was no longer commercially viable.
Originally, developers say they investigated converting the existing building into flats, but later said it wouldn’t work structurally or economically.
The pub was subsequently demolished, but it is yet to be replaced by anything – with the site still standing empty.
Thomson House
Decades before the development of Central Square and the construction of the UK Government offices on Wood Street, when St David’s House and the old Cardiff bus station was still standing, there was another building in the mix that seems to be forgotten about today – Thomson House.
The home of the Western Mail and the South Wales Echo for more than 40 years, it stood between Wood Street and Park Street.
That was until Media Wales moved next door to its new office, leading to the subsequent demolition of the former premises.
The Western Mail building
Even earlier, before Thomson House existed, the Western Mail had another home – St Mary Street.
The paper was created in 1869 by the Marquess of Bute and moved to its first home on the street before that was destroyed by fire in 1893.
Two years later, a new building was built to replace it, and the Western Mail moved in.
This building, which stood on the corner between St Mary Street and Golate Street, was home to the Western Mail, and later the South Wales Echo, until the construction of Thomson House in 1960.
Today, Golate House stands on the site.
Empire Theatre
The Cardiff Empire is one of those buildings that has been built and rebuilt several times.
Originally constructed in 1887, it was rebuilt just nine years later in 1896 by famous architect Frank Matcham.
However, in 1899, the building was damaged by fire and was rebuilt again the following year.
It remained in use in this form until 1915, when it was rebuilt yet again, transforming into the fourth iteration of itself.
It remained in use as a theatre until 1932, when it was converted into a cinema, before it closed its doors for the final time in 1961.
The building was demolished in 1962, and today the site is occupied by Primark.