Empire Cinema
Pontypridd Road,
Porth,
CF39 9PH
Pontypridd Road,
Porth,
CF39 9PH
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Porth is a small mining town in the Rhondda Valley in south Wales. There is not too much information known about the Empire Cinema.
It is listed in the Kinematograph Yearbook 1937 edition, so it was open prior to this year. The proscenium was 24 feet wide.
The Empire Cinema closed in 1972. By 2015 it had been renamed Leith House and is in use as a dental teaching unit. It is designated a Grade II Listed building.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
I can recall the Empire Cinema quite well. It stood on a corner that was close to the roundabout where the famous Houses of Parliament stood. The Parliament being the largest set of public toilets in the Rhondda Valley. Porth being more famous for its Parliament than its coal mining.
The narrow entrance to the hall was in Pontypridd Road opposite the Maerdy direction Western Welsh bus stop. The sign over the hall was a simple board bearing the name Empire Cinema and lit by a small flood light.
I can remember. many years ago, being told that in the days of silent films, there was a Grand Cinema in Porth. I am therefore wondering if the Empire is actually a reincarnation of the vanished Grand?
This is the entry in the 1958 Kine Year Book. Empire (GB Duosonic) Pontypridd Rd, phone, Porth 141.Lewis Merthyr Workmens Hall, 740 seats. Booked at hall.Continuous 2 changes weekly,Prices 9d. to 2s.3d. Screen 21ft. 6in. wide. Proscenium width, 24 ft. Cinemascope.Station, Porthcawl (B.R.) Not sure why Lewis Merthyr Workmen’s Hall is there.