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City Centre Photographs

Rupert said:
Yeah, it's Highgate Park right enough and if you look on the 1890 OS you will be able to recognise the paths in the park. Perhaps some of the park was cut off by the road bend of New Mosely Road...perhaps a later addition than when the picture was made. So maybe only a single flight of stairs was then required. The problem with these pictures is scale. The foreground can be reasonably accurate but those buildings in the background are 2 miles away and if shown to scale would be a little pin *****. So they cheat. Anyway, be that as it may, the direction of the buildings numbered is not too bad at all. I don't think that this is the picture that we were looking at...hmmm...all those years ago but may be wrong and maybe some of the buildings are not concurrent. Anyway here's a shot :

1. St. Thomas's

2. Maybe Mason Collage

3. Town Hall

4. Christ Church

5. Council House

6. The Tower of the Hippodrome

7. St. Philips with King Edwards in front of it

8. St Martins

9. Looks like a little chapel but there was a police stn. down there

10. Unknown but there is a cross on top..same as above?

11. Highgate Park.
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I have my doubts on No6 being the Hippodrome Tower as directly underneath it is what appears to be New St Station.
 
Great photo Carolina. I would love to see an old photo of the left hand side of Corporation Street opposite Rackhams before it was developed.
Shops would include The Donne, Barrows, Court's Furniture and others. Many of the old photographs are taken from a different position so
you never see the places mentioned above.
 
oh yes, mikeya. This is a key portrayal. Assuming that the other side of the junction (on the right) is a bit further up the Grand Theatre. Nearly all photographs of any decade has concentrated on the North-West side of the road, and when Lewis's was built that in turn became the main attraction.
 
Fabulous picture this. Shows how much the opposite side of Corporation Street was always the focus of attraction-especially when Lewis's became prominent.

How far up Corporation Street are we? Would the Grand Theatre be behind us on the right or is that its curved dome up yonder? Would imagine the Stork Hotel is in-between somewhere.
 
Richie said:
Fabulous picture this. Shows how much the opposite side of Corporation Street was always the focus of attraction-especially when Lewis's became prominent.

How far up Corporation Street are we? Would the Grand Theatre be behind us on the right or is that its curved dome up yonder? Would imagine the Stork Hotel is in-between somewhere.
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Yes, the view is from Corporation St, just up from Martineau Street, as Barrow's Stores (seen here on the right in Lancaster Buildings) was just along from the corner of Bull St - the gap in the buildings about where the 'bus is. Further up would be Old Square, with Priory Street running across and yes, on the right would be the Grand Theatre. Behind the tram post on the left you can make our the Central Methodist Hall's tower - I'm trying to work out what the mansarded tower in the background on the right of Corporation St (probably around the junction with Newton St) would be. To think - almost in front of us but underground trains would be rumbling along between Moor St and Snow Hill!
 
Love the photo Wendy. 'Walkover' shoes (left of photo) sounds very modern. I like the man with the Jack Russell,wheeling his bike. Those people alighting the Hagley Road bus seem to be doing it with such elegance, watched by the two policemen. I'd say it was possibly a sunny, spring day. Great busy scene. Viv.
 
The immediate bus on the left is a motor vehicle whereas the one ahead of it appears to have cart wheels and be horse drawn. Both bus bodies seem to be near identical though. Perhaps the old bodies were adapted to motorised underpinnings. A transitional period.
 
There was a shoe shop at around that point at no 76 , England & Co . They appear in Kellys first in 1904, not being present in 1903 (in fact the whole block suddenly appears, so presumably it has just been built). They are still listed in hte 1915 edition, but have gone by 1921
 
Going back to post 1060 the unresolved location of the Sheffield Ltd depot with all the sandwichboard men lined up outside. Whilst looking the answer to another question I came up with the solution (at least I think it is). The name of the pub that Dennis made the original enquiry about was the Colmore Inn on the corner of Church St and Barwick St.

The trouble is we were trying to find a solution looking from the wrong end of Barwick St. We were looking at the Town Hall End of Barwick St when we should have been looking at the Snow Hill end. The map shows the location of where the photo was taken at A and the Colmore Inn at B. The Google snip shows the same view today, and the B&W photo shows the Colmore Inn in the sixties.
 

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You got it. I think. Which photo is older? Looks like the bollards have gone.
 

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Yours is the most recent. Having bollards to prevent parking on the pavement wasn't necessary until quite recently.
 
Phil said:
Going back to post 1060 the unresolved location of the Sheffield Ltd depot with all the sandwichboard men lined up outside. Whilst looking the answer to another question I came up with the solution (at least I think it is). The name of the pub that Dennis made the original enquiry about was the Colmore Inn on the corner of Church St and Barwick St.

The trouble is we were trying to find a solution looking from the wrong end of Barwick St. We were looking at the Town Hall End of Barwick St when we should have been looking at the Snow Hill end. The map shows the location of where the photo was taken at A and the Colmore Inn at B. The Google snip shows the same view today, and the B&W photo shows the Colmore Inn in the sixties.
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Oh you beauty! I was only looking at that old pic yesterday! I think you are bang on....merci buckets...and you Paul...
 
Any one know what happened to a little passageway .Think it was called Colonade Passage ran from New sy and probably was parralel to Ethel St Possibly would have beenthe first p litle passage way in New st onthe right hand side? Was a model shop of some note in there Old Joe
 
There was a stamp shop up one of these side streets, saw my FIRST Penny black stamp in the window there, did a lot of business with them when I was into stamp collecting. anyone remember the shop? John Crump OldBrit. Parker, Colorado USA
 
Old Brit

There was a stamp dealer in Union Street, another in Burlington Passage, and yet another in Needless Alley. I think Fyfe & Grey would have been the most well known at the Grey House in Union Street.
 

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oldbrit said:
There was a stamp shop up one of these side streets, saw my FIRST Penny black stamp in the window there, did a lot of business with them when I was into stamp collecting. anyone remember the shop? John Crump OldBrit. Parker, Colorado USA
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Yes I recall it as well - often looked int he window but never really got into collecting after my first album.
 
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