There are places people walk past in Swansea, turn to someone younger and explain wistfully: "That used to be...."
It might mean very little to the person listening and the place indicated may look nothing like its former self. But to others it might bring back a host of memories.
Across the city are venues where thousands once attended weddings, birthday parties and other social occasions, but are now completely different or gone entirely.
We've taken a look at some once famous venues in Swansea, what they used to be, and what we see there today.
Top Rank / Ritzy / Time and Envy / Oceana
Whether you went to Top Rank, Ritzy, Time and Envy or Oceana, they were among the city's most legendary nightclubs and places where many met their future husbands and wives, or had unforgettable nights out with friends.
Oceana, the last nightclub incarnation there, closed in 2014 and was eventually razed to the ground. Swansea Council is now set to invest £33 million into a new building which will provide space for 600 jobs and is aimed at tech, digital and creative businesses. Known as 71/72 The Kingsway, it will link through to Oxford Street and feature top-class digital connectivity, a roof terrace, greenery, and balconies overlooking the city centre. The authority has said work on the five-storey building where the Oceana nightclub once stood will get underway this summer and finish next year.
The Pines
The former Pines Country Club in Swansea saw hundreds of couples tie the knot. It was a hugely popular venue for generations. It looks entirely different these days though, after Coastal Housing transformed the site into 28 residential properties, along with a new Jenkins bakery and Tesco.
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Sketty Hall
Sketty Hall was also a venue where hundreds of people got married. It has belonged to Gower College, Swansea, since 1994, when it established a reputation as a popular venue for weddings, dinners and lunches.
But increased demand for college courses meant it was eventually developed solely for teaching. The Grade II listed building, with its own grounds close to Singleton Park, became a business school offering a range of professional courses as well as higher-level qualifications and degree apprenticeships.
Langland Court Hotel
Langland Court Hotel was once one of the city’s top hotels after being built by a Swansea shipping family in 1884. It was also a wedding reception favourite for many hundreds of couples over the years. It was closed to guests in summer, 2002, and then, three years later, in 2005, was destroyed by fire and was later razed to the ground.
It had been in the Birt family for 47 years. Liberty Properties (Homes) Ltd built houses in its place, including four and five-bedroom townhouses and three-four-bedroom detached houses.
Osborne Hotel
Langland's Osborne Hotel shut its doors for good in the year 2000. The replacement for what was one of Swansea’s most loved hotels at Rotherslade, which saw a multitude of functions in its time, was a luxury apartment block of the same name.
The 36 homes making up the £4 million development were snapped up within days of going on the market, at prices upwards of a couple of hundred thousand pounds. Its construction was not without problems as far as local residents were concerned, however, with disruption to the cliff-top path and parking at the bottom end of Rotherslade Road.
North Gower Hotel
The North Gower Hotel was also a very popular place for weddings and special occasions. It had 17 rooms and occupied a 1.5-acre site, with panoramic views across the Loughor Estuary to Carmarthenshire. It was razed in order to make way for the site’s redevelopment in April, 2013. A number of executive houses were built in its place.
Neptunes
Neptunes was a hugely popular destination for a night out in Mumbles once upon a time, and for many years was the climax of the fabled Mumbles Mile. Popular clifftop restaurant, Castellamare, took over the site and has been trading in the spot it once stood for more than 20 years.
There could be another transformation in future, with plans in the pipeline to turn Castellamare into a wedding venue, hotel and spa.
