Former Central Cinema

The Former Central Cinema is a two-storey building with a painted and rendered main frontage on Hannah Street, featuring classical detailing. It has three bays, with the center bay slightly projecting forward. There is no visible roof or parapet. To the left, a portico supported by three freestanding Doric columns leads to recessed wooden and glazed entrance doors and windows. An entablature spans the entire frontage, supported by channelled piers at both ends and the center. The frieze includes decorative medallions of Castell Coch. The center bay features an inverted semi-circular window, while the right bay has two slender pilasters adorned with swags over three keyed oculi. Below, there are two recessed windows, each with three lights and small columns topped with rose mouldings, along with a central recessed doorway that has panelled double doors and a metal grille over the overlight. The building has a plinth, and above the cornice, the upper floor includes five multipane cross windows along with alternating recessed and relief panels.

On the Pontypridd Road side, there is a pair of long rectangular multipane staircase windows with round lights above, set in a moulded surround, and two rectangular lights below. The remainder of this elevation is made of coursed rubble with brick surrounds to long segmental arched blocked windows and pilaster edgings.

Inside, the foyer features a heavily moulded plaster cornice, elliptical arch mouldings with a keystone, lion's head capitals, and decorative wall panels. The wide stairs are adorned with decorative metal balusters and a heavily moulded wooden handrail, with wall mouldings for lights. The main interior retains dado mouldings, moulded pedimented doorcases, and double swing doors. Although the walls and ceiling have been relined, original plasterwork is reported to survive beneath. A balcony supported by slender cast iron piers with Ionic capitals has additional later metal supports to the ceiling. While the seats have been removed from the downstairs area, they remain in situ in the raked balcony. At the rear, there is a projection room with a metal fire door.