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See Birmingham by Post Card

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In this picture, The Fish Hall is on the left. Now I have no idea what The Fish Hall was but I just know Mike or Lloyd will know all about it. The tram is on Islington Row heading towards the city and a motorbus is coming up Broad Street. I do not have a date for this one.
 
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This is a postcard franked 1926.
Looking towards Hagley Road, the building on the right is/was the Fish Hall.
 
Stitcher
I am a bit lost with this one. I know of the Fish Market, which was close to the Market Hall, but that's not it. Will have to have do a bit of searching
Mike
 
Hello mike, the caption with the last postcard tells me that the block lettering on the building on the right says "Fish Hall", leading me to believe that this building was indeed the fish hall.
 
Stitcher
Nos 9 & 10 Hagley road, which would be just about there are listed as Sawers Ltd, fishmongers. They must have described themselves as being a fish Hall, to be more exclusive for the gentry of Edgebaston
Mike
 
Stitch's last picture is what one would have seen if out and about prior to WW2. It looks about 1918 or so maybe the electric tram gives the date approx and there seems to be an ancient motor vehicle coming down the hill. Most of us would have only memories of this view when many of the buildings on the right were destroyed...up beyond Nelsons Passage was a levelled site.. Here the Market Hall still has it's roof (maybe the most famous roof in the world) and I was going to say that perhaps this is as developed as the old place ever got...but no; as we have seen there were buildings in the triangle at one time. I wonder if some of the old aerial photo's were taken from the mobile crane on the horizon.
 
Rupert
I think you are correct in your dating. In 1915, but not 1913 or 1921, 2-3 High St was George William Lingard, Waxworks showman.
 
Can I say "thank you" to all those who add a bit of information to go with the pictures/postcards. It all makes it so much more interesting than just reams of images. Thanks again.
 
I'd guess around 1901 Stich, no cars only bicycles and pony and trap. Thanks for adding all these great photos, I love them

Bob
 
I keep saying Bob, it is a pleasure for me as long other members enjoy looking at them.
 
Yes, Erdington High Street - "Erdington Green" - looking from the Sutton end. Wilton's chemist's shop on the corner of High St and Mason Rd. (The Wiltons were important people in Erdington then, and owned a lot of the ground at that end of the district. Nowadays Wilton Road [going off to the extreme right in the picture] and Wilton Market are named after them.)
Two years later in 1907 the tram lines were laid along High Street.
 
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Pity it does not look like that now. It seems utter madness to have knocked down those magnificent buildings - I was cross at the time, and even more cross now!! What a lovely city centre we once had.
 
I agree!

I don't remember the old library that well, I only went inside once during my school days and I didn't really appreciate how lovely the buildings were at that age.
I presume the main reason for demolishing and building a new library was because they needed more space for the archives?
 
That might be the case Sparks, but I have often wondered if, although they needed to make more room for traffic in the centre, etc, it may just have been a case that they did it, simply because they could. It gave someone a chance to put his name to something. It is probablyopen to speculation, but I think it was a combination of both things. What would they have done today? I suspect leave the library as it was (and I thought it was lovely at the time) and use a sccondary building for some of the collection. Students use the library these days more than they seemed to in the late 60's early 70's - more students and more facilities perhaps. Whatever the reason, it was, to my mind, a big mistake, but there again, I am a bit of a dinosaur!
 
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An unusual one of Five Ways, the clock and the statue are still there but have both been resited since this postcard picture dated 1905. The building with the short spire on the right hand hand side was the Midland Bank and it stood on the corner of Ladywood Road. Hagley Road goes off to the right and Calthorpe Road goes to the left.
 
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What a great photo Stitcher, of such an iconic part of old Birmingham, little changed when I was a lad in the 50's but now all gone.
paul
 
Hello Paul, I am glad I was born 72 years ago because It must be dreadful to be young now. Mind you, I suppose the younger generation think everything is o/k nowdays but I know which era I prefer.
 
Well, great...I suppose we had the best of it...since we are past the best before date...well...we shall just have to keep on goin. Or like Rumpole's judge said when giving 10 years to the old guy in the dock and the fellon said "I'm too old judge...i'll never do it" the judge replying..."well you will just have to do as much as you can".
 
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