Site Proposal: Elysium Cinema

The site I have chosen to exhibit for the site project is the Elysium Cinema, located at the top end of the high street. I have chosen this site due to its significant place in Swansea history. Although it is abandoned, and has been since 1994, a lot of the history still remains inside. For instance when it was built in 1914 it was opened as a Cinema on the top floor, and a working man's club on the ground floor (named Dock Workers Hall), and a lot of the 900 seats provided for the cinema are still apparent. Like many working men's clubs in South Wales, the Dock Workers Hall had strong links with the Labour and socialist movement. Eventually it became home to the Labour Party in Swansea, with their local headquarters being located in the upper floors of the High Street building. Not only did the Elysium play headquarters to the Labour party, but it also saw the Second World War, and was one of two buildings left standing on the High Street after Swansea took heavy bombing. I think these facts alone would interest any artist who is interested in the history of Swansea and its past economy. At present the council are fighting to retrieve the building from private ownership to find a new use for it, so I think it is important to capture it in its original state before it is lost forever.

After the building closed and re-opened again in 1960 it became a bingo hall. My research has discovered that all of the bingo equipment remains in the building. This adds character and authenticity to the building which most derelict sites do not posses.

Despite the amount of research I have done I am yet to find contact details of the private owner, but have emailed people who have already entered the site, inquiring how they went about going inside. In saying this I have received no replies as of yet. The amount of imagery online of this site would suggest that gaining access to this site shouldn’t prove too difficult; whether they entered the site legally however is yet to be seen.

The only problem with this site is the issue of safety. Images of the inside suggest that certain areas are to be avoided, but there seems to be a lot of empty space too, such as the bingo hall. With a site this big I don’t think getting 6-7 people inside would be much of a problem, as long as there is enough secure space to work with.

Further information about the site can be found here: http://www.forlornbritain.co.uk/elysium.php