Plaza cinema, Port Talbot


The Plaza is an abandoned cinema in Port Talbot. The building is listed for protection as Grade II. The cinema opened in April 1940. It has a modern design with Art Deco influences. Patrons included Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins.

History

The cinema was built in 1939 and opened in April 1940. It initially closed as a cinema in 1983 with the film Tootsie when it was converted into a bingo club. It re-opened again as a cinema on 18 October 1985 with Walt Disney's Peter Pan.. It finally closed on 4 January 1999 after several multiplex cinemas had opened around the venue, starving the cinema of "first run" new release film product.
The cinema was listed Grade II on 4 August 1999 because it was considered a very rare example in Wales of 1930s cinema architecture, with an interior which was largely intact.