Restoration Update – 27.09.09

Well here we are a couple of weeks into the restoration and Plaza is starting to uncover her secrets to us that she’s hidden away for decades.

First things first and our wonderful contracting team have built their own version of the Berlin wall across the auditorium to ensure that dust and debris from the works when we commence excavating under the stalls for the creation of the new Stalls Bar.

The Berlin Wall or ‘Swansea Wall’ as we’ve dubbed it as the experts building it hale from across the border, is a masterpiece of engineering in its own right as it needed to be built and without being physically attached to any of the ornamental plaster work but strong and sturdy enough to create a solid barrier. With the wall in place works could commence on removing the inner foyer, rear stalls sales area, box office and admin offices along with the basement toilets, whilst externally the enormous scaffold was erected which will enable access to the facade for its full restoration and preparation for the installation of a canopy that will stretch the full width of the building.

As the room divides that were erected over the last few decades were removed, plasterwork mouldings and intricate paint schemes from previous refurbishments have been unearthed and are seeing the light of day after years under false ceilings, whilst in the gents toilets earlier tiling again from previous refurbishments have been uncovered all of which will either be restored back to their 1930’s splendour or recorded for posterity as the works progress.