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Chamberlain square then and now

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

simon do you have this pic of the old library


lyn

image.jpeg
 
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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.
 
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)!
 
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:
 
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
 
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


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

simon do you have this pic of the old library


lyn

BirminghamCentralLibrary1-2.jpg

Thanks Lyn, didn't have that view.

Simon
 
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
 
I agree Curly. Queen's College was demolished except for it's Grade 2 listed frontage as you mention. The building in it's present form retains the name Queen's College Chambers at 38 Paradise Street. Now condos and offices. The building was pretty old and decrepit back when I worked there. The lift was ancient. The stairs were marble
with a lot of wrought iron railings and the whole lift was encased in wrought iron. I don't think much had been done to the interior since 1904.

For more info on what is coming in Paradise Circus in the near future is a quick view of a recent pdf file by Birmingham Council. A lot more buildings are coming down!
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...i5UaXg&sig=AHIEtbQ9_Z16A8FnTYDLYPLQ9bA9JXi7EA
 
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I am a newcomer to this site so apologies for joining a thread that is almost two years old. Some excellent pictures have been posted here.


I left Brum in 1970, so I have no idea what kind of furore there was, if any, when such fine buildings were flattened but I can kind of understand how it happened - which is in no way to condone it. It all but brings tears to the eye when seeing pictures of what was lost.


It may look a crazy thing to do today, but the development did have some merit. Chamberlain Square was transformed from a not entirely pleasant traffic thoroughfare into a very valuable and usuable civic space. It may have happened mid 70's but the mood of the time was perhaps still influenced by the 50's and 60's when it was very much 'if it's old it has to go, new has got to be good'. After all, who wanted the hassle of fresh fish when you could have proper fish fingers? People were amenable to a Birmingham that looked like Chicago rather than Heidelbug - according to artists impressions, anyways.


I look at the plans for the next Chamberlain Square and am horrified. Knock down the old libray by all means, but replace it with something to be proud of. I wonder if in 40 years time people will reflect on the way that, with barely a murmur of concern, so many ordinary buidlings were packed into the scheme and a key civic area was turned into the focal point of a series of wind tunnels and rendered all but useless.
 
The changes from 2010 to 2017.

Birmingham Central Library in 2010



Early demolition of the ex library from January 2016



February 2017 - you could see through to Centenary Square.



August 2017 - construction of 1 Chamberlain Square is well underway

 
The library is so awful it is almost comical. It is such a shock as you approach it.
There ought to be a vote as to which is the worst, Selfriges or the library.
 
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