Chamberlain square then and now

[Astoness]

hi folks..im on me soap box again...just wondering if there is anyone in birmingham or even on this planet who can either condone or justify the demolision of this wonderful building to replace it with what is there now and less that 50 years later this is now to be demolished..mind you i wont be losing any sleep over it..if you look to the left of the then pic you can just see the original library which was also demolished

pic courtesy of richard postill and many thanks to him for allowing me to post his pic on the forum..

 

[carolina]

Lynn the mind boggles.

 

[Astoness]

carolina when i look at that fine building which was cast aside so readily i do have to ask myself why the hell am i acting as forum spokeswomen in trying to save the fox and grapes and the eagle and tunne pubs...if they can destroy such a building then what chance for those pubs...nothing is safe but there again we always knew that...
lyn

 

[Wendy]

Makes you want to weep! More money than sense as my granny used to say!

 

[wam]

Some of it's just because times change. In the 50s they wanted more shelf space so they could put out more books so we got the concrete layer cake with a few extra floors. I suppose they could have used the old building for something else once the new one was working but they must have thought it wasn't important.

 

[rosie]

I hope they keep this safe when they start demolition!!! It seems to have been changed over the years........I think the sides have been altered. Is it "Listed" or protected in some way?
rosie.


P.S. I've just "Googled"! Yes it's "Listed".

 

[cookie273uk]

It makes you wonder what sort of people we get as councillers, they certainly have little or no respect for our fine old buildings. Eric

 

[Astoness]

I hope they keep this safe when they start demolition!!! It seems to have been changed over the years........I think the sides have been altered. Is it "Listed" or protected in some way?
rosie.


P.S. I've just "Googled"! Yes it's "Listed".

hi rosie....which building are you asking is listed...

lyn

 

[sistersue61]

Yes it was another case of tunnel vision I should think, to lose such a great building.
I wonder how many of the people who authorised the demolition had any connection with Brum at all?
Sue

 

[Astoness]

Yes it was another case of tunnel vision I should think, to lose such a great building.
I wonder how many of the people who authorised the demolition had any connection with Brum at all?
Sue

probably not many sue..it seems to me that the powers that be then and now are determined to rid and rob this city of our magnificent buildings and replace them with what i call throw away ones..50 years on and they are past their sell by date..lessons have not been learnt as its still going on now...

lyn

 

[Wendy]

I am amazed at the amount of people I know (especially Brumies) who love old buildings and architecture visit places like Krakow in Poland. I then found out because the country could not afford to build new ones after the war they did what they could to preserve the buildings. For me this speaks volumes!

 

[Astoness]

well lets put it this way wend..if you compere the 2 buidings in post 1 which one would you be more likely to be proud of and want to show off.. which one would you be more likely to see brummies and tourists taking photos of.people walk past the library we have now without a second glance but everyone is taking pics of the council house..town hall etc..my american son in law is an architect and he is stunned at the buildings that have been demolished over the years..

lyn

 

[Wendy]

I totally agree Lyn how short sited can you be. People will travel around the world to see an old piece of beautiful architecture but they won't travel around the corner for a new build.

 

[sistersue61]

And Tamworth proves that again, I'm sure the town would get more visitors, when they have seen the Castle, if the planners had left all of its glorious old buildings instead of replacing them with concrete blocks!! You only have to look at Stratford, Liverpool, Chester etc.
Sue

 

[Astoness]

how true is that wend...what gets me is if someone smashes a shop window it is deemed quite rightly as vandalism but at least the window can be replaced but we are talking about the wholesale demolision of buildings that can never be replaced so whats that called...im getting angry again so going for a stong cuppa..

lyn

 

[Wendy]

Ha Ha don't get upset Lyn at least we are talking about it and showing our disapproval. Sue you are so right about Tamworth the planners are like Brum! If you get the chance have a look at the stairway to the offices of the Co Op on Colehill the tiles are stunning this is before they demolish them at some point!!..so sad. I try to picture the places the old folk tell me about little courts where there are now empty shops ((

 

[ellbrown]

There's this plaque in one of the windows of the Central Library (down Congreve Passage - they have moved it several times)
on Josiah Mason College



The Central Library is not listed.

 

[guilbert53]

... but they won't travel around the corner for a new build.

While I agree about the sadness of knocking down old buildings, it is not true people wont travel to see a new build.

The Selfridges building in Birmingham (which I have to say I dont like) is an iconic building and I have seen a number of tourists and visitors standing outside it having their picture taken.

And people in London will soon start flocking to the Shard to go up to the viewing gallery.

And many people in Paris did not want the Eiffel Tower built and it was only meant to be short term. Can you imagine if they tried to knock it down now.

 

[Happyguy]

I just remembered i had this postcard. It was posted in 1951, but i dont know if the picture is older than that date. What i find interesting is that to the left of the clock tower is building work being carried out as one can see clearly the poles of scaffolding, ( well i think thats what they are.

 

[wam]

View attachment 83999 I just remembered i had this postcard. It was posted in 1951, but i dont know if the picture is older than that date. What i find interesting is that to the left of the clock tower is building work being carried out as one can see clearly the poles of scaffolding, ( well i think thats what they are.

You're looking at the face of the Art Gallery. The scaffolding (if that's what it is) is somewhere down Edmund Street. The site of the 60s library is to the left and behind the shot of the camera.

 

[rosie]

Hi lyn, sorry for the delay re post#8, I meant the lovely fountain not the Library.
rosie.

 

[Simon4130]

I've just been showing the photo of the old library to a couple of friends here and they are gobsmacked that it was knocked down:culpability:

On my last visit there was a discussion with Les Ross going on in the Art Gallery and one of the topics was which demolished buildings were the biggest loss to the city. The library and Snow Hill station were the two that everybody mentioned.....

Simon

 

[Astoness]

dont worry rosie i am sure the fountain will be ok..

simon do you have this pic of the old library


lyn

 

[ASTONITE]

I think that most of my views regarding the vandalism perpetrated upon Birmingham historical buildings, were aired on the new library thread, when you look at photographs of what they have destroyed forever, you can only wonder why or how they justified it. As Wendy said, they have also destroyed most of Tamworth's historic past and what they replaced it with is beyond belief.

 

[Charlie]

Will you STOP posting these pictures Lyn? I just about manage to dry my eyes, and lo there's another one :blue:
Me me me Wendy .. I shall be going in May for my fifth/sixth visit to Krakow, marvelling at the wonderful architecture there. Liverpool's another city that preserved many of their old buildings, ok sometimes it was because they couldn't afford to demolish and rebuild after the war but thank goodness for it! Since then, the planners have realised the importance of keeping historic buildings and aren't making the mistakes that Birmingham planners made in the sixties (I hope)!

 

[Wendy]

I would love to visit Krakow to see all those lovely buildings. They seem to have a booming tourist industry. I think this is one thing Birmingham had no forsight about. As you say Charlie it make you weep and Lyn's pictures certainly bring it home.:blue:

 

[sistersue61]

Am just watching the implication that the council may sell off some of the old buildings to fund the payouts for the wronged female council workers - as an aside , the Conservative man said there were also investments in businesses such as the NEC and airport - mmm, lets see, what will the councillors choose!!!!!! Get taking those pictures folks.
On a different slant, Kate my daughter says the old buildings in Prague are beautiful too, and some of the pictures she has are great!
Sue

 

[jennyann]

It certainly is sad to read this thread and see the photos of the old buildings in Chamberlain Square from decades ago. From my perch in the bay windows
of the first floor of Queen's College Chambers in Paradise Street where I worked in the late 1950's for a year or so I could gaze out on the whole scene
in Chamberlain Square. The buildings were magnificent, a bit black but we know why for years many of the buildings in Birmingham were black. Bit by bit
that scene has changed dramatically. The beautiful buildings for the most part are gone. The Chamberlain Fountain looks so out of place now and
when the next phase of change happens the square will be completely changed and the fountain..... well you be the judge......what follows is the rendering of how Chamberlain Square will look when this project gets going...https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/450m-birmingham-development-approved

 

[Simon4130]

dont worry rosie i am sure the fountain will be ok..

simon do you have this pic of the old library


lyn

Thanks Lyn, didn't have that view.

Simon

 

[Curly]

It certainly is sad to read this thread and see the photos of the old buildings in Chamberlain Square from decades ago. From my perch in the bay windows of the first floor of Queen's College Chambers in Paradise Street where I worked in the late 1950's for a year or so I could gaze out on the whole scene in Chamberlain Square.

Interesting though, that Queens College Chambers was also demolished, but in this case someone had the good sense to make it's façade grade II listed, and retained. Shame they couldn't have done that with the Old Library, or indeed Mason College.
Dave