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Corporation Street

I am sure it is tinted Vivienne - the buildings suggest that if nothing else. However the BCT bus, appearing to be on route 9 to Quinton, is not far off colour but the saloon bus on the left, which I believe to be a Midland Red, is way off as it looks blue on my pc.
 
Red would show as a very dark colour on orthochromatic film , as was usual in those days
 
Rare to find Corporation Street empty, but this was Saturday morning before most of the shops opened.

In the restaurant units of the Pitman Chambers is now Dixi Chicken and Pepe's Piri Piri.

The building was built as a Vegetarian restaurant in 1896-97!





Over at the retail units of the Central Methodist Hall, many remain empty, but the two below have now been let.

Get Stuffed is on Corporation Street



And The 50's Barber has taken a unit on Ryder Street.

 
Vivienne14 said:
This is the street in 1928. Is this a tinted card? The bus to the right seems to be painted in unrecognisable colours. Is it realistic? Viv.

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This is tinted, colour cards were still all hand painted, actual colour photography for postcards was just around the corner. Unfortunately if the colourists did not know the area, they were given a frèe hand on the colours to use in this one she was probably told the colour of the BCT bus or had even coloured one before, but did not know of Midland Red. The blue bus is BMMO and one of the experts on BHF will be able to identify it from the reg number HA 3353 or HA 3553 or somewhere near, interesting that the reg no is so clear and has not been painted out. What are the ghostly straight lines on top of the hazy building on the back left hand side. Note that all other vehicles are black as are the clothes of most of the men in the picture. The other incorrect colour is the roof of the Birmingham bus. I will look st my books and see what colour it should be. Somewhere else on the forum there is a Birmingham bus coloured green.
Bob
 
I was thinking along the same lines Tim but Lewis's opened in 1885 - nearly 40 years before the postcard. Although that doesn't rule out subsequent work being done on the building. I also wondered as the image has been tinted, could some of the lines have become obliterated in the process? That set me thinking whether they were tram wires or street light wires. Viv
 
Vivienne14 said:
First photo is Corporation street in 1925.

No date for the second one but love the "50 shilling tailor" who claims "rational tailoring". Maybe then it was around WW2 or just afterwards. There's no "rational tailoring" in the 1920s though ! Viv.
The rear view of the bus dates it as being from the post WWII purchases, all raised corners to the platform window
and the registration number in the middle of the cream band under the window, 1946/7 onwards, but I can guess no further.
Bob




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Lots of sandwich boards along Corporation Street. Maybe they were announcing the opening of a new shop ? I guess it's about 1920s, but not sure. Viv.

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Looks like the tram is about to drop off the edge of the world !!

Seriously though, Coleridge Chambers which was built near the steam tram came into being in 1904. So the photo is pre-1904, in fact much earlier if it is a steam tram. Viv.
 
A common view of Corporation Street. But what I like about this one is the cart, bottom right. Looks like he may be carrying milk churns (from the station perhaps ?). Don't have a date, but possibly 1910s/20s ? Viv.

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Here is the Corporation Street/Bull Street junction before and after demolition in September 1966. Viv.

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I note that around WW1 and in the days when many people played and owned pianos and having frequent musical soirées, there were four companies in Corporation Street where pianos and other musical instruments could be purchased. They were William Sames, Cranes & Sons, Scotchers & Son and finally Murdoch. I don't know how long these companies lasted and if they moved where they went. I believe Crane & Co are still in business and were when I shopped there in the early 1950,s
 
The ABC Warehouse on Corporation Street once was the premises of Pitman's/Lawrence's College 1950's and 1960's. I went to school there in the 1953 and years later climbed the stairs up to the ABC Warehouse. The College moved and the building was demolished in the late 1970's.
 
This corner of Corporation Street/Bull Street will be very familiar. Looks about 1960s. What was 'Noel' ? I remember the name but not what they sold. Was it clothes ? Or shoes ?

Nice view of Rackhams proudly flying its flags. Viv.

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Is Rackhams now owned by House of Fraser? It was announced today that the Birmingham House of Fraser store is set to close in early 2019. Dave.
 
Some prime sites among this list. Worth far more than the stores I guess.
The House of Fraser stores identified for closure:
Altrincham • Aylesbury • Birkenhead • Birmingham • Bournemouth • Camberley • Cardiff • Carlisle • Chichester • Cirencester • Cwmbran • Darlington • Doncaster • Edinburgh Frasers • Epsom • Grimsby • High Wycombe • Hull • Leamington Spa • Lincoln • London Oxford Street • London King William Street • Middlesbrough • Milton Keynes • Plymouth • Shrewsbury • Skipton • Swindon • Telford • Wolverhampton • Worcester
I haven't been in the Plymouth one for years, but this is what it looked like last time I was in it in 1988.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-devon-44397260/house-of-fraser-in-plymouth-store-closure
 
Animal rights activists, whom as far as I recall were never apprehended, set fire to the place. Firefighters from many parts of Devon went there.
 
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