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Birmingham City Centre in the early 1960's

fatmark

fatmark

proper brummie kid
Many of you have already visited my site (www.photobydjnorton.com) and I'd like to thank you for the messages of support posted here and via email. I've long since completed my aim of adding almost all my father's city centre photo's to the site but I'm now very pleased to be able to display some new pictures thanks to the kindness of a visitor to my site.

The late Leonard Stace took some truly stunning pictures. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I have. If any of you spot any errors in my accompanying text or can help date the photo's then please get in touch.

Here's the link:-
https://www.photobydjnorton.com/PhotosByLeonardStace.html

Regards
Mark Norton
 
What fantastic photo's, and I did have the stomache to look at the photo from the art gallery today and you were right what a mess, it's great that you are carrying on your fathers work or we would not have seen any of it, thank you.
 
Thankyou for your efforts. These pictures bring back the flavour of our past. Like you I am also appalled at what has been lost.
 
The new photo's by the late Leonard Stace compliment your fathers collection beautifully. I can't date them with any certainty, but the clothes would suggest that you are very close.
I stood in Chamberlain Square recently, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the 'beach', complete with deck chairs. It adds insult to injury in mho.
One of the many unforgivable loss's was the Theatre Royal where I was fortunate to see my first Pantomime, Musical Theatre and also Ballet, so the photo of the process of taking the building down was very painful to me.
 
Some brilliant pictures of old Birmingham there. Again, they really hurt me, because I was involved in the early design of the wretched ring roads, especially the subways or 'pedestrian facilities' as they were called - as if they were an optional extra to the motor roads -- with absolutely no thought for the needs of public transport passengers. The only comfort I have is that I did join Lambeth Council in 1973 on a ticket to fight the former Greater London Council 'Motorway Box' project, which was a series of ring roads and main routes into the centre. But the GLC changed hands less than two years later, mainly on account of the motorway box plans. So I had to do other things from then on. But it is still a very sensitive subject for me.
Peter
 
Birmingham timelapse from 7inch cinema - Chamberlain Square
If you haven't seen it before ( I hadn't), have a look at this great timelapse sequence - https://www.ctrl-n.net/journal/arch...erlain-square-birmingham-timelapse-1963-1986/
Amateur photographer Derek Fairbrother assembled photographs taken from the same spot in Chamberlain Square between 1963 and 1986, and compiled them into an intriguing timelapse sequence. The timelapses were displayed in an exhibition called ‘Birmingham Seen' which was on display at the BM&AG in October 2009. From the Ctrl-N website run by Olivier Ruellet, a graduate of the University of Central England.
Available under the Creative Commons licence as specified on the website.

Bill Dargue
A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames . . . from A to Y - https://billdargue.jimdo.com/
Old Birmingham Pictures - https://oldbirminghampictures.lefora.com/
 
I think the only thing that time lapse shows is that Birmingham Council have done more to destroy Birmingham than the Germans ever did.

I had seen the time lapse before online, and also saw it at Birmingham Seen.

Mind you, having seen the awful design for the NEW Library I think they will be knocking that down in 20 years time also.
 
Your father took some wonderful photos. The site you have created is not only a great record of Birmingham in the past but also a lovely tribute to your father. The old Birmingham was very grand, I find it very sad to see what has been demolished over the years.
Polly
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Thank you so much for posting that timelapse. I did see it at "Birmingham Seen", but it's good to view a few times simply because it's sometimes difficult to picture it "as it was"...before Birmingham City Council demolished all those lovely buildings - and for what? I find it really sad. I'm told you must move with the times and agree in some instances (slum redevelopment etc), but this.....?!!
 
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