Rhyl Pavilion was rumoured to be unsafe from the start, probably because it was built quickly; one commentator said that it had been “. . . thrown up in barely 10 weeks” and J.W. Jones, Rhyl's first historian, in his book 'Rhyl The Town And Its People' said 14 weeks.
There were no major safety problems, but in summer seasons from 1949 to 1961 there was a resident circus at the Pavilion and this is said to have caused a lot of wear and tear around the stage area.
Inspections towards the end of the 1960s, when the building was well over half a century old, indicated that a massive amount of money would be needed to bring the place up to standard. The money wasn’t there; the National Lottery heritage fund did not exist in those days. From a county council point of view, demolition was unavoidable.
The council insisted that the Pavilion was unsafe. Rhyl people were not convinced, especially during demolition when they saw the big dome hit the ground in one piece. Thirty-five years later, the matter still rankles among the oldest generation of townspeople. The picture is once again from Gareth Morris. Thank you, Gareth.
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WED 6th JUN 2018 UPDATE: From unknown source, here is another view of demolition. I wonder if the foundation stone really wound up in this position or was placed deliberately for effect. Either way, a good shot.
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