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City Centre Photographs

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1950 in Corporation Street
 
Nice Photo of Corporation St Trevor.I think the date is a little early I can see a couple of cars that were not around at that time.I think its around 1959 as the shop Swears & Wells move their shop from the High St next to M&S about this time, as an apprentice I used to go there and do Electrical repairs.Dek
 
thank you Dek, as I said information is a little sparse with many of these pictures so any help is welcome. I had most of them from a shop in Hay On Wye a number of years ago and I still have some I have never looked at yet. I am going through them as I carry on with my de-cluttering mission.
 
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I have limited knowledge about these things but does it help to date now it is larger.
 
There's also parked up one of those Scammell-type parcel carrier vehicles-was this the type we were searching for a couple of years ago regarding the markets? If only the woman crossing (centre) would get out of the way a bit, we might be able to read the number plate!
 
I notice no bus lanes in the 1950s! All those cars parked where the bus should pull over ... used to often wait at the stop outside Fred Burns's shop. I notice there's a Midland Red stop a little further up too. Now this is possibly a rare thing to be able to say these days, but that stretch of buldings is still there! Hip, hip hooray .............. Viv.
 
The photograph in Post 390 shows more detail of the buildings on the right hand of the street. One of my favourite ports of call is shown: that is the Midland Educational store. Oh! what pleasure I had looking around there. I bought many school books there - I preferred my own copies at home so I could always re-read them when out of school or college. My next stop after this place would be the model shop at the end of Cherry Street - another not to be missed place.
 
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1904 outside the Law Courts and the Sheriff is just leaving in his carriage.
 
Great photos Sticher, that used to be my favourite bus to Sparkhill the cross city 29 (&29A) was'nt it also the night service bus to Hall Green one way and Great Barr tother way?
Keep the photos comming and Happy New year.
 
I think you are correct about the 29 night bus Bob and I am glad you enjoy looking at the pics.
stitcher.
 
My knowledge of the Birmingham area is only valid until early 1954. Up to that date the NS bus service to Hall Green was NS37 which stopped at the city boundary in Hall Green as it did in the daytime. Of course after that date the 29 service might have provided a night route, I can't say.

Those of us living beyond the city boundary had a long walk or had arranged for a car or taxi be to available.
 
Thanks for the info radiorails u are quite right
Why I love these type of pictures is that it brings back memories of the old streets in the City Center that are no longer there in ecsence. Yes we knocked it all down flat and built a concreate jungle with little class.
 
Radiorails, you are so right I must apologise, now you have said that it was of course the 37 that terminated at the boundary on Stratford Road. I just know one of the other members will verify this and tell us where the 29 went to or goes to into the bargain.
 
I'm not quite old enough to remember buses in the 50s, but I think I remember that my Nan called Kingstanding Circle "The 29", meaning that's where it terminated. Or maybe it was "The 28"
 
My memory of some of the Birmingham bus numbers is hazy now but was it the 33 that went to Kingstanding Circle?
There was another route that went to Hawthorne Road - maybe that was the 29a?
 
Dashers said:
I'm not quite old enough to remember buses in the 50s, but I think I remember that my Nan called Kingstanding Circle "The 29", meaning that's where it terminated. Or maybe it was "The 28"
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In the50s the 29 terminated at the Trees Pub on the Queslett Rd going from the Kingstanding Circle up and over Kettlehouse Rd it later got extended along Collingwood Drive. The 28 was a outer circle bus terminating at the end of Dyas Rd Kingstanding to Erdington,up the Chester Rd to Stechford then to Small Heath on to the other terminus at Station Rd in town.Dek
 
Going the other way and into town, did the 29 terminate in town or did go on somewhere else after that? And I've often wondered what was the difference between the 29 and the 29A. Viv
 
My memory of the 29 and 29A buses was that the 29 turned round at Kingstanding Circle. If we wanted to visit an Aunt in Hillingford Avenue on the Pheasey Estate we caught a 29A which turned round at the top of Hillingford Avenue.
The things which interest me in Sticher's very nice High St photo are the couple walking across the road, what uniform is the man wearing ? - and the object which seems to be partially fenced in on the left of the photo, and the two women leaning out of the window looking as if they are touching the roof of the bus !
 
Fistly I suppose it dates me but this is how I remember High St. Oh, I was around longer and the bombed site left, that destroyed the City Arcade/Midland Arcade, became built on again and the Rotunda was built and the Bull Ring morphed into the first ugly...but the view down to Dale End past Carrs Lane and Martineau Street stayed the same for much longer. Anyone dropping in suddenly from the mid 19th century would have recognised it. Not now I think. The object behind the railings looks like it might be a bomb casing with a coin slot on top for donations. There was one outside the old market hall.
 
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Hello Rupert, I do not know your age but I was born in 1940 and although Mom used to use the Co-0p and Kings Hall along with a lot of other shops My memory is not so good at what was where. Of course I do remember the many bomb sites but I do not recollect where they all were.
stitcher
 
oldMohawk said:
My memory of the 29 and 29A buses was that the 29 turned round at Kingstanding Circle. If we wanted to visit an Aunt in Hillingford Avenue on the Pheasey Estate we caught a 29A which turned round at the top of Hillingford Avenue.
The things which interest me in Sticher's very nice High St photo are the couple walking across the road, what uniform is the man wearing ? - and the object which seems to be partially fenced in on the left of the photo, and the two women leaning out of the window looking as if they are touching the roof of the bus !
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Thanks Oldmohawk. The fenced object coud be an unexploded bomb ( hopefully de-fused of course!). I think the women leaning out of the window are probably looking at the photographer, as I think are many of the pedestrians. Maybe for a newspaper? Viv.
 
Hi Viv,
I seem to remember (when I was very young) a bomb case which was used for fund raising allowing people to put coins in it but I seem to think it was in New St but I may be wrong.
I like to look at the people in these old street photos as well as the buildings.
oldmohawk
 
oldMowhawk, there was a bomb case whith a slot for coins in the old fish market.
 
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Hi Stitch - I can remember looking at that bomb case but could not remember it's location. I can remember seeing a big thermometer thing in the city showing how much had been saved towards some war effort fund. Looking again at your photo in #400, I wonder what that tall building was on the skyline ?
oldmohawk
 
oldMowhawk, I keep saying this on several threads that I have posted on, someone will know so lets hope it gets revealed.
 
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