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Weaver building

Buildings and structures demolished in 1984Buildings and structures in SwanseaDemolished buildings and structures in WalesIndustrial buildings completed in 1897Welsh building and structure stubs
Reinforced concrete strut from the Weaver Building, 1897
Reinforced concrete strut from the Weaver Building, 1897

The Weaver building was a flour mill and corn storage building which formerly stood alongside the half-tide basin of the North Dock in Swansea, South Wales. Standing at six storeys high, 80 ft by 40 ft by 112 ft, with its lower floor cantilevered some 10 ft above loading bays, it formed part of a complex of buildings owned by Weaver & Co. and was designed and built by the French engineer Francois Hennebique in 1897, being an early example of reinforced concrete building in Europe. The Weaver building survived World War II bombings in 1941, the general post-war clearance of other industrial buildings in the area and the filling in of the adjacent basin in the late 1960s, but was demolished in 1984 to make way for a new Sainsbury's superstore that now stands on the site. A column from the fifth floor of the original building was preserved by the Science Museum, with another piece going to Amberley Museum. Another fragment lies by the side of the river Tawe, where a plaque commemorates Hennebique and his achievement. Reinforced concrete buildings, that served as grain silos, had been erected in Constanța, Brăila and Galați in Romania between 1884 and 1889 by engineer Anghel Saligny, thus prior to Weaver Company mill in Swansea.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Weaver building (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Weaver building
Quay Parade, Swansea Mount Pleasant

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Wikipedia: Weaver buildingContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.62 ° E -3.938 °
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Swansea Sainsbury

Quay Parade
SA1 1SR Swansea, Mount Pleasant
Wales, United Kingdom
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Reinforced concrete strut from the Weaver Building, 1897
Reinforced concrete strut from the Weaver Building, 1897
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Parc Tawe
Parc Tawe

Parc Tawe is a retail park and leisure area in Swansea. It is located in the eastern area of the city centre on the west bank of the River Tawe in the Lower Swansea. The area includes "out-of-town" style stores with car parks located outside the shopping area. A highly visible building in the area is the Plantasia - a large triangular tropical plant house. Entertainment in the area include a 10 screen UCI On 29 September 1989 until 2006 (Then: Odeon cinema) and a ten pin bowling alley.The area occupied by Parc Tawe was once the North Dock. The North dock was opened in 1852 becoming the first dock in the Swansea docks complex. During the 1930s changes in methods of working, reduced trade and the increasing size of ships led to the North Dock being closed and subsequently filled in. For decades the North dock area was an industrial wasteland, until re-development as a shopping complex in the late 1980s. Parc Tawe is divided into two shopping areas separated by the road linking the Parc Tawe Bridge with Strand Row: the original Parc Tawe area and the newer Parc Tawe North. Units located in Parc Tawe include The Food Warehouse, B&M Bargains, Office Outlet and Mothercare. Retailers in Parc Tawe North include Homebase, Lidl, JD Sports, Pound Stretcher, Pets At Home, Bargain Buys and Home Bargains. In October 2016, a proposed £15-million revamp of Parc Tawe got the green light. The new development features a drive-thru Costa coffee shop as well as the UK's first Denny's restaurant.

Castle Cinema
Castle Cinema

The Castle Cinema is a former cinema building located adjacent to the grounds of Swansea Castle in Swansea, south Wales. According to Kinematograph year book of 1914 the Castle opened in October 1913. It was the only building left standing in Swansea's Castle Street vicinity after the Nazi German Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Second World War. It is a grade II listed structure.In 1963 the Castle Cinema changed its manager (Mr. Harry Williams who had previously managed The Plaza on Swanseas Kingsway. Mr Williams retired in October 1981, aged 79). The cinema required complete refurbishment. New wall coverings and screen tabs were installed along with a cinemascope screen. Two hundred seats were removed from the back of the stalls to create a foyer which meant the small circle had no overhang. Double seats (kissing seats) formed the last few rows of the stalls. During the 1970s the cinema was showed a number of soft core porn films. By the end of the 1970s Swansea had only two other cinemas (the ODEON on The Kingsway and a small independent operating in a chapel). In 1982 the lease of the Castle was acquired by Circle Cinemas of Cardiff who renamed it the FILMCENTA and installed new projection equipment and Dolby Stereo and started to exhibit popular mainstream blockbusters. The cinema showed films that had not been secured by the Rank Organisation for its Odeon Chain. This was known as the ABC release stream. The local city council banned Monty Python's Life of Brian from being shown. Circa 1988 UCI opened a 10 screen multiplex in the town next door to the Filmcenta. This meant that it no longer showed a film exclusively and its audience chose to go to the multiplex with its modern facilities. The Filmcenta remained open for nearly two more years before eventually closing. The last film shown was "Doc Hollywood" with Michael J Fox. The building was converted to use as a laser gun combat-game and assault course called the Lazerzone.