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City Centre Photographs

bobsummers

bobsummers

Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
I am starting this photo album to record all historic and current photos of our great City, this is Warwick House, New Street. The buildings housed Marshall & Snelgrove 1900 till today.

I hope this builds the best on-line photo album of our beautifully buildings.
 

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  • City New Street Marshall & Snelgove warwick[2].jpg
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Re: City Centre Photo Album

Great idea to take photos of Brum as it is now especially the old buildings Bob.
Thank goodness that Phyllis Nicklin took those photos back in the l960's and Keith Berry over all the years of Brum and surrounding areas both of long ago and contemporary shots. There are several other places to view Brum too. At the rate the city is changing these days those photos will be a great record for the future.

Where I live the city is changing fast and I don't know how many times
my husband and I have said, when passing by an old shop or building "We must take a photo"...we don't and then the next time we pass by the places have been demolished!
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Unfortunately I don't live in Brum and so can't help. I completely agree, but its not just the old buildings. Nowadays the average life of buildings seems to be getting shorter and shorter. When I first came to the city the "middle" bullring had just been built, and I'm sure that then no-one would have dreamed that within 40 years it would completely (except for the Rotunda) disappear from the face of the earth.
Mike
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Whenever I pop back 'home' to Brum I always take loads of photos of the City centre as I've noticed so many changes. I'm almost ashamed to say that in the last 2 or 3 years I've taken something like over a thousand photos of the centre including images of older side streets etc.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Birmingham has changed so much, and a lot of the old character of it has been lost, has anyone got any pics of how it used to look by the Rep on Broad Street, I always remember as a kid going past on the Bus, watching the Couples have thier Wedding Pictures taken in the Gardens that were there by the Fountain, there was a line of old stone archways, they aren't there now and it's all block paved :(
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Dolphie said:
Whenever I pop back 'home' to Brum I always take loads of photos of the City centre as I've noticed so many changes. I'm almost ashamed to say that in the last 2 or 3 years I've taken something like over a thousand photos of the centre including images of older side streets etc.
Click to expand...

Whats to be ashamed of Dolphie. If it wasn't for people like you taking photos over the years the kind of pics we enjoy on here just wouldn't exist. We will be glad to see any you might care to share with us.

Mike
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Claire-brum71

Here is a photo of the area that you remember, and also a photo of the Colonnade's in their new home alongside the tower of St Thomas's in Bath Row.

Phil
 

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  • City Broad St Hall of Memory 1930.JPG
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Re: City Centre Photo Album

claire-brum71 said:
PMC thanks for those, personally i think it looked better where it was originally tho :)
Click to expand...

I agree, but I suppose we must be grateful that it wasn't just bulldozed down - and that St. Thomas' tower still remains.
Actually, it's a shame that the whole of Hayward's Civic Centre scheme wasn't finished at the end of Broad Street.

birmingham civic centre plan.jpg
 
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Re: City Centre Photo Album

They've ruined Broad Street, taken all of its character and turned it into glass fronted Booze Central, half of the pubs are now boarded up and they're building those flash un affordable flats.... im glad they cleaned up the Canals, only good thing they did really....and i'm sorry but i hate the new Bullring too. I'm not going to mention the design of a certain shop! oh and a certain torched statue... the £250,000 spent on that could have been used on better things! Why are they stripping this city of all that's good!!
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

I love to see old photos of Brum but we have to move on.
I think the area around the Hall of Memory looks a lot better then it did.
Who could like the old 60's Bull ring, I think the Bull ring looks great to today.St. Martin church looks fantastic, not like it was, dirty and forgotten with traffic running around it.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

I agree times need to change, but so much of Birmingham's history has been lost, and it's what made this City!! I will always have fond memories of the old Bullring, shopping there for Bargains, getting Chips in a bag at the top of the ramp where Mark One used to be, you used to meet some great people and chat, noone seems to do that now...and as for the Shops in it... well most of them are designer and out of the reach of everyday folk, it's just lost it's appeal for me. I don't go in there and probably never will. The Church does look wonderful, i agree there and I'm glad they did that too

The Central TV Studios are demolished now.. wonder what's going to replace?
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Good luck with the project, Bob.

I collected together some images (with the help of forum members) of one of the city's greatest lost buildings, Barry's King Edward's School in New Street, demolished in 1936. For convenience I put them here.

It was located opposite Marshall & Snelgrove's. I wonder if there is a forum member who actually saw this building.

Chris
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Guys & Gals
Lets start building our forum album, put your personal taken photos of our city centre buildings site, and make it unique and make it an amazing collection!

DIG OUT THOSE PHOTOS! and down load.

I can't Wait!!!
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

claire-brum71 said:
IThe Central TV Studios are demolished now.. wonder what's going to replace?
Click to expand...

Arena Central - see https://www.arena-central.com/

Mixed use development, as is popular these days, so plenty more unaffordable and overpriced apartments!

If all goes according to plan, it will include the V Building, Birmingham's next tallest building.

Bring back West End Chambers, the old Britannic Assurance offices, that's what I say!



Fat Mark
 
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Re: City Centre Photo Album

Wow, what a fabulous building, shame it's gone, it looked magnificent, can i ask what replaced it?

I agree Mark... they're doing the same on the old ROVER SITE... who in longbridge now it's lost it's industry is going to be able to afford to live in the new 'Mini City' they are building!!!! I'm really passionate about my City and i just can't see that it's changing for the better.. i just wish i had more pics of it how i remember it as a child.. everytime i go into Birmingham centre now somethings different, but hey times need to change so lets just bull doze the lot ay!!
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

ChrisM said:
Good luck with the project, Bob.

I collected together some images (with the help of forum members) of one of the city's greatest lost buildings, Barry's King Edward's School in New Street, demolished in 1936. For convenience I put them here.

It was located opposite Marshall & Snelgrove's. I wonder if there is a forum member who actually saw this building.

Chris
Click to expand...

Wow Chris what a wonderful building, what a great bit of history to read, I can't believe it was knocked down!
thanks for the post, that was like the Klondike striking gold, any more like that?
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Claire,
The King Edward's building was replaced by a late 1930s block of offices and shops. This was completed before the outbreak of war and survived the 1940/41 bombing. I remember it from later in the war, apparently intact. I lost track of the centre of Birmingham after the 1950s but I assume that the later building was itself replaced by what stands there now, called, I think, King Edward's House.

Bob,
Sorry, no, not much else tucked away. Just a rather turgid word-picture of that end of New Street from the winter of 1942/43 (but it contains a useful link to a wonderful set of city centre images from the 50s and 60s).

Chris
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Earlier this year we had a thread about Phyllis Nicklin's amazing slide collection of old Birmingham shots. Di Poppitt gave us a link to the Main Library where you can view over 400 coloured slides going back 50 years.
https://62.105.110.193/search/results.bhtml?collection_id=10032
Also, we have mentioned Keith Berry's amazing collection started
years ago of Birmingham and surrounding area. Keith has built a collection of cameras over the years and each set of pictures are taken with one of them.
You can find his collection at: https://www.pbase.com/beppuu

It's always great to have more photos.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

jennyann how do you get into that site it keep asking for my username & password ?
THE BARON
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

That site is wonderful, full of fabulous photos. If anyone wants to see any photos of mine (of Brum in last few years) please shout. Most are of the city centre mind.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Jennyann, how do you access the site, as Baron says ,it keeps asking for a user name and password.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Sorry, I was off making scones for breakfast. Watched an old Bertie Wooster show last night and the scones and jam looked amazing....but I digress.
You can Google Phyllis Nicklin and find the slides from there. There are many links. I am not sure why the link in my post didn't work.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Try this link, it's just an update of the first one I posted, and it does give you the 450 odd slides that the Uni released. I gather there are many more unseen. Thank you Jennyann for giving the link, such lovley photos.

https://62.105.110.193/extras/public.bhtml?library=10032

I just checked that the link worked and remembered that if you click on and image it will enlarge, above the frame it says fine detail preview, it's worth clicking on that to get superb images.
 
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Re: City Centre Photo Album

Thanks Chris will have to keep an eye for that when i'm next in town, still can't get over them ripping tha building down, what were they thinking!!! It was beautiful, i'd have loved to have seen it
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Thanks Di. I was hoping that you would come on the forum and put
this thread to rights. I love looking at those pics and slides.
 
Re: City Centre Photo Album

Jenny and Di great web site. That is how I remember everything when I was young. I really liked the photos of the Old Bull Ring and the thing that hit me was the ladies and the little girls in their pretty dresses.
Great thread Bob. Mo
 
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