Let's blitz this has-been old theatre

“I was born in Plymouth in 1969, moved away at the age of 11 and saw a lot of the world. Obviously, I have a place in my heart for my home town and it saddens me to see the heritage slipping away. I feel those with the ability to hold onto our heritage would rather line their pockets. In South East Asia, the Middle East, South America you can see how proud the societies are of their ever so present heritage and love to show it off. I fear that one day, Janners will be dwarfed by student accommodation carbunkles and the shadows of fat cats prowling through the urban jungle. I love Plymouth the people and it's history. Let's hold onto it for the generations that will follow and be proud to pass on some beautiful history.”

“the city needs a proper council, and Tudor to disappear”

“The 'Plan for Plymouth' as laid out by Abercrombie was the best plan put forward and was accepted by the council of the time, and by proxy, the people.

From memory, the plan was never completed. Was that the fault of the architect or the council?
I've lived in Plymouth all my life and still think the layout is compact and accessible. It could be improved to reflect the needs of today, but lack of investment, uninspiring councils and the current dive into austerity has halted any serious or beneficial development.

If Plymouth is to be a dynamic city attracting new industry then it has to stop this 'living in the past' mentality and move on. The theatre has to go if there is to be a future worth having.”

“I'm sorry that, bay accident of birth, I couldn't be around immediately after the war, blogtodi - but I do remember a lot of gaps which weren't filled for years after the money for Abercrombie's self-aggrandising pie-in-the-sky 'vision' ran out. I do talk to relatives who remember it very well, however (including one who worked in Paton Watson's department), and I also spend a couple of days a week poring over various postwar plans so I hope I'm not entirely ignorant of what happened.

Paton Watson and Abercrombie were arrogant autocrats - this much is evident from their appearances in Jill Craigie's film, The Way We Live, and from their letters. Like you today, they argued that Plymouth only faced two extreme options, without considering any other views but their own.

Other cities were blitzed, but rebuilt with more sympathy for the residents than this unholy pair, aided by twenty years of woeful architecture from city architect HJW Stirling - a man of no vision or taste, whose understanding of geometry began an ended with right angles and straight lines.

If you remember the end of the war, you are probably lucky enough to also remember the elegance of prewar Plymouth's architectural acievements. Who are you to deny the few remaining gems to those of us condemned by your own generation's aesthetic blindness to growing up in this bleak grey wasteland?”

“Oi, this was my idea!”

“destruction is the only answer to this ugly side of Plymouth”

“If you'd been around after the war, you'd have seen the city for what it was. A virtual wasteland. Most of the shops and roads/streets bombed into oblivion. The choice had to made to either patch up the city and leave it looking like badly filled dentistry or use the opportunity to clear away and design a new city. Abercrombie and the council chose the latter and it had to be done quickly to restore the infrastructure and normality. Away with the old and in with the new. No room for sentimentality of old and decaying buildings. A chance to create a compact city centre fit for the time.

The Palace is beyond hope. It's insides have been ripped apart over the years as countless, fast-profit, entrepreneurs have tried to make a fast profit with minimal investment. It's no longer the focal point of anywhere. It stands like an abandoned, rusted classic car in a sea of dereliction that is Union Street.

Clear it all away, westhoe boy has the right idea, and use the opportunity to create something we can really be proud of.”

“You'd think, given the postwar cultural vandalism inflicted on what was left of Plymouth by Abercrombie, Paton Watson and Stirling which we've had to live with ever since, Plymouth would be crying out to salvage what little is left of its former heyday. Sadly it seems that some of us have had all sense of beauty leached out of them by half a century of architectural mediocrity.”

“Imagine the frontage without the Armada scenes,and what is left? An eye-sore.
So remove,and preserve the murals,and get shot of it.”

“It would be a shame to see such an iconic building go. Walking past it is a pity to see it in such a state. A small venue for rock bands would be great. If you get a chance pop down and see the great brass plates set into the pavement out side. With no money to invest and no chance at all of any hand outs from the public purse as it is empty, I fear this once glorious building will be consigned to the pages of history only to be replace with another super market”