Bath’s Palace Theatre takes its final bow.

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Demolition of the old Palace Theatre – as of February 22nd, 2016.

The next major stage in the re-development of the old Palace Theatre site in Bath’s historic Saw Close got underway today – Thursday, February 11th, 2016, with the start of the careful demolition of the old building which has changed names – and hands – many times during a long and varied career.

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The old tower entrance hall to the Palace Theatre will remain to be incorporated into the new complex.

The building itself has been extensively modified and – in parts – rebuilt in its transformation from music hall to dance room and then finally to a bingo hall.

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A powerful jet of water is used to keep dust levels to a minimum.

Once the demolition work has been completed – probably in late April – contractors will move in to start building a complex that will include a casino, hotel and several restaurants – giving a whole new look to this corner of a historic site that lay just inside the old city wall.

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Just a few rows of bricks at a time to avoid the whole wall collapsing.

The Virtual Museum was on hand this morning to see work begin.

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The excavating machine with pincer jaws and looking a bit like a dinosaur’s head.

It’s going to be a slow and very careful demolition to ensure there is no major collapse which might affect parts of the structure that will be incorporated into the new build.

Back again today – Friday, February 12th to check on progress. Changed my mind about this pinching machine. It’s more like a giant vulture cleaning the concrete flesh off old metal girder bones!