Report - The Elysium Cinema, Swansea - January 2024

[Seffy]

The Elysium Cinema, Swansea, South Wales
​

The cinema opened in April 1914 in a building used partly as the Dock Workers Hall as a club for the working men of Swansea. This area can be seen downstairs within the structure. Designed by Ward & Ward of the Strand in London, the building is situated towards the top end of Swansea High Street and features a somewhat impressive facade which now blends into the surrounding buildings and is easily overlooked when glancing down the street. Supposedly, the cinema as a whole, which was run by the Anima Company, could accommodate up to 1400 people in its prime!

The building, as a cinema, closed in 1960 and subsequently became (you guessed it) a bingo hall, remaining as such until circa 1994 when it closed for good. The place has been shut for as long as I've been alive...​

This was what would be the end of a long weekend for some in South Wales; a lovely (!?) little fetid cinema in lovely (!?) Swansea. 'Tis no means the first report from here, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but it gave me a chance to take the 35mm out for a spin as I've not used the camera much recently.

I believe I owe it to @Terminal Decline and @Dave W for sussing out access. Wasn't particularly difficult but it turns out that doing it with a large Starbucks coffee in one hand is a recipe for some serious bruises and cuts to one's shin... I wish I could say lesson learnt but I try to be a realist in life.

Thanks to @slayaaaa and @Terminal Decline for the company here. The others had buggered off to the pub (shock).

Added a couple of phone pics in to boost the photo count, so the quality of what follows drops considerably in places.

Photos

Upstairs on the balcony, looking down on the suspended ceiling

Downstairs where all the bingo hall era can be seen

Moving down to the bottom floor where the working mens club was situated

That do be all; thanks for the look in!​

 

[The Young One]

Why were they all converted into bingo halls?

 

[Seffy]

Why were they all converted into bingo halls?

I guess buildings of that design have limited scope for any use other than a cinema/theatre without a hell of a lot of work to convert them. Bingo hall fits the bill with less effort required

 

[The Young One]

Fare enough

 

[GRONK]

Lovely stuff

 

[Terminal Decline]

Very nice, lots of great details which I overlooked!
This has got to be one of the grimmest places I've explored: take your pick of the Weetabix floors, mould infested basement, collapsing ceilings, or the pigeon carcass/shit covered circle. That's said, it's also one of the most interesting, due to it's thoroughly dated nature, rabbit warren of rooms, and impressive decay.
Would I return? My heart says yes, my lungs and brain say no!

 

[GRONK]

Why were they all converted into bingo halls?

Most of the conversions took place following the passing of the Gaming Act in 1960, it was easy for cinema operators to convert struggling cinemas into bingo halls because it was a lot more lucrative.

 

[The_Raw]

Always fancied a look in there. Looking pretty battered these days though

 

[Lenston]

You genuinely do think the building will come down at any moment here. Will never forget finding a freshly made bed upstairs surrounded by chaos. Apparently the owner would sleep in there on a night out in Swansea.

 

[tumbles]

Why were they all converted into bingo halls?

A lot of the time the companies that owned them (odeon for example who were owned by rank) would also own a bingo chain. Cinema popularity dropped with the TVs becoming a thing at home and thus they converted them to something that would be more profitable in the building

 

[Calamity Jane]

So much beauty in the decay

 

[Speed]

The bingo was because cinemas would run a bingo night every week when bingo first got popular and they eventually worked out bingo was more profitable so they gradually had more bingo nights and the building swapped purpose. (expecially once multiplex cinemas started to take over.)

 

[DustySensorPhotography]

Lovely decay, crazy they put that full drop ceiling in though

 

[RealBBNC]

Sealed as of 17/04/24
Metal boards on the windows now

 

[Speed]

Been sealed for months. Its what happens when it gets posted online.