This morning I went to my first CBS Radio Users Group meeting since last October. Following this I worked in the office chipping away on some of our remaining bad debt problems until it was time for Ashley and I, with Sarah our new BCRP co-worker, to visit Rory, chair of the BCRP Steering Group for an update on our recent activities.
Rory's office is on the first floor at the St Mary Street end of the Morgan Arcade. Last time we were there together, back in January, she showed us the re-building and conversion work going on above and behind the St Mary Street facade. Progress on this has necessitated re-routing access to Rory's office through an entrance in Tredegar Lane at the other end of the Arcade. This took us along dusty corridors above the arcade and its shops, into parts of the building which were the back offices for the Directors of the David Morgan Department store, which ceased trading in 2005. It's all in the process of re-furbishment. In many of the empty rooms you can still see old fireplaces and wallpaper dating back to the middle of the last century.
As we made our way out after the meeting, Rory took us through the quiet corridors of the new Morgan Apartment building, on the Hayes side of the development, to glimpse an extraordinary large panelled and timbered room with stained glass in mock baronial style. It sits over the Hayes entrance to the Royal Arcade and now serves as a common meeting place for apartment residents, but in the heyday of Cardiff's renowned department store, it was a prestigious function room for events related to the company. Next time we visit Rory, I must be sure to take a camera and take some pictures of this remarkable interior, for posterity.
No comments:
Post a Comment