The Queen's & Royal Garage

The building was built in the 1930s as a shared garage for the Queen’s Hotel and the Royal Hotel. The latter still exists, a little to the south. The Queen’s Hotel was originally the Stogumber Hotel and was rebuilt c.1895. It occupied the plot behind the garage and the Queen’s Vaults pub. Both hotels catered for well-heeled guests, and the confident use of Art Deco on the garage’s frontage as well as the plane picture were intended to reinforce the idea of sophistication and modernity. Cardiff’s first civilian airport opened in Splott in 1931, and from 1935 until the Second World War it had scheduled international flights to and from France.
The garage was modern in its construction too, using concrete and a framework of steel. It remained in use as a garage, latterly for taxis, into the 21st century. In 2007-2008 it was converted to become the Zerodegrees restaurant and microbrewery. The architect is unknown, but the style is very similar to London buildings designed by Wallis Gilbert & Partners. It is listed Grade II.