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Dollman Street Stores Discussion Here

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rod
  • Start date Start date
I,ll be attending on Monday,with my Wife and grandchildren
be nice to meet up with some forum members there,to help keep it alive
i,ve got a name tag left from the the sixties night,ll be wearing, C U there hopefully.
dereklcg..
 
I went to the Dollman Street stores two weeks ago on the Open Day on 13th May 2012.
Uploaded photos to Flickr here Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street.

Glad I went. Saw the Dawson statue, loads of busts, various cars, bikes, clocks, TV's, radios, record players etc. Took more than 500 photos!

Small selection of photos

Dawson bust

Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street - warehouse - Bronze bust of Dawson by ell brown, on Flickr

Equestrian Figure of Edward I

Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street - warehouse - Equestrian Figure of Edward I by ell brown, on Flickr
 
ellbrown Thanks for the link to your photos on flickr - couldn't get there but your photos are a great and amazing record of what is in store at Dollman St. I remember seeing many of the items on display in the Museums on my many visits as a youngster.
 
Thanks, elbrown, for giving those of us who have not so far got to Dolman Street a glimpse of the treasure trove which is there. So much of it should be on public display - and certainly all that which has a clear West Midlands connection.

I don't want to reopen the Think Tank debate but I wonder how it was that the old, much loved Science Museum, crammed with all sorts of interesting things and giving so much pleasure to my generation and our children, came to be cleared away and replaced by ..... well, something which I vowed never to revisit. But I suppose, after the passing of some years, I ought to give it a second chance.

Chris
 
No problem. I'm glad I went (had heard about it - then found out about this Open Day via the museums @BM_AG account on Twitter

There was so many items from the old Museum of Science & Industry at Dollman Street that never made it to Thintank.
Also those cars, motorcycles, two traction engines (one even said "Presented to the Museum of Science & Industry).

So many small objects locked away in cages (at least that's what I think they were).

Someone else related to the museum said on Twitter that 98% of what the Museums own is in Dollman Street!

On the model of the Civic Centre, was plans for a Planatarium and Natural History Museum that never got made (I would guess that the Natural History Museum would be where the New REP and Library of Birmingham are now).


Museum Collections Centre - 25 Dollman Street - Garage - Model of Proposed Civic Centre by ell brown, on Flickr
 
Was also a good opportunity to see items I saw before, such as this Louis XIV reduction.

In Dollman Street


Three years ago at BMAG



The Spirit of Enterprise fountain sculpture that used to be in Centenary Square (until construction of the new library began)

Now


Over 3 years ago
 
A wonderful collection such as this really deserves to be on public view all year round rather than just a few open days, i'm sure the photos are just a taste of all the other fine exhibits that can be seen. Is there any plans on the horizon to have them permanently displayed? A real shame if there isn't.
 
There isn't room in the main museums. I heard that 90% plus of the collection is there.

Some things might have been moved here while the Birmingham History Galleries are being built at BMAG.
 
Can anyone please tell me when the next open day is.....and is there anywhere to park my car ?......Thank you
 
August 19th.

Think there was a small car park outside (go inside the gate, and it is on the left).


 
Great........Thank you for replying ell brown.....been meaning to go for a few years, I can take my grand children show them some real history......
 
I can't understand the figures given hear 90% of the exhibits are stored in this warehouse, well forgive my ignorance that means there is only 10% on show in the think tank now i have never been to thinktank but it must be very small if that is all they can cater for, yet it seems such a large building , if you consider the size of newhall street where they had all these stored exhibits on display plus the "city of birmingham" which was on prominent display newhall street must have been a tardis compered to thinktank.
must go and check thinktank for myself .
phil
 
It just goes to show what a shame we haven't got a proper museum. If only we had something like the Black Country Museum. I have a friend coming up from London tomorrow who wanted to visit a "the Birmingham museum" well I would hardly call the Think Tank that! I have told him to visit the Pen Room museum. Sad isn't it.
 
wendy
I have commented before about a black country style museum located in birmingham they ( the powers that be) seem to find land for numerous apartments that no-one can afford or want yet some of these older buildings that have been converted into apartments could have been used for a museum i still think they could have used land in the east side developement for it, but who am i but a mere rate payer who can have no say in it
phil
 
So what would they put in this Birmingham version of the Black Country museum, All our old buildings of interest have long disappeared. Mind you I suppose they could make a start with the Golden Lion in Cannon Hill Park as Birmingham Council certainly don't want it, they are just waiting for it to fall down. Any other suggestions?
 
phil
That is at least one they should preserve they at least put it somwhere safe but then left it to rot i still think they should encorporate curzon street in any museum plans (not that they have any ) there is plenty of land there.
phill
 
I went to a museum in Naples, Italy last week (National Archeological Museum of Naples) and it was massive (was on a organised tour holiday of the region). Had lots of statues, busts etc found in places such as Pompeii and Herculaneum. The building itself looked old, but had scaffolding outside (assume that they were restoring it).

There's just nothing the size of Dollman Street Stores in the city centre to fit it all.

Was wondering if the old Central Fire Station could be turned into a museum (instead of student accommodation) near Aston University.

The land near Curzon Street Station is reserved for HS2 I believe.

The new Science Garden has opened at Think Tank - not got round to checking it out yet.
 
The last open day was Sunday 16th September 2018, I went there via a heritage bus from Snow Hill Queensway.



Some of the photos I've uploaded so far from this visit.

Past Leaders of the County Council



War memorial plinth with a hand with a torch.

Sutton Coldfield, Wednesbury, Northfield, Central Labratory, Council House, Lord Street, Industrial Research Laboratory.

 
The bus is JOJ 222 (2222), a rather elegant Leyland 'Titan', with bodywork by Park Royal which entered service with BCT in 1950. There were 50 buses in this class and were generally at Hockley and Roseberry Street bus garages. This particular bus was at Quinton when withdrawn in 1969. It can usually be seen at the Aldridge Transport Museum/ Aston Manor Museum.
The granite plinth looks like it might have once been part of Dartmoor. ;)
 
I know it was JOJ 222. Nice 10 minute ride on leather seats upstairs. Roof was a bit low!

What about that stone torch?

Found a copy of Oliver Cromwell's death mask in the Smaller Objects Store!



The last time I saw one of those was at the Museum of London in 2012.



Also seen in here was a bronze bust of Bronze bust of Frederic Lord Leighton by Thomas Brock.

 
ell you didnt come across the big clock from lucas gks did you...it was said to have been put into storage after the factory was demolished but i have never been able to trace it...i have asked dolman st but they admitted that they did not know all of the stuff they have stashed there..said they would do a search and get back to me...never heard a thing..

lyn
 
no ell thats not it..the lucas clock sat in the middle of the bridge that crossed from one side of the lucas factory to the other like the H SAMUEL one in hunters road...i doubt we will see it again
 
Seems to me you’d need to spend a lot of time in the place to really explore the items, especially if they’re not too sure exactly what’s stored there. What an interesting place ! Viv.
 
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