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New Street City Centre Birmingham

Morturn said:
No now. A combination of pigeon spikes and farming techniques have reduced starling numbers significantly.
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That's good to know...they were mostly in Victoria square. They tried various things to get rid of them in the 50's including very loud horns.
Dave A
 
Not come across the reference ‘Blitz Corner’ before although, it succinctly captures what happened here in WW2. The image is from the 1890s. The article refers to the ‘horse-road’, a term regularly used by my Nan but without the ‘h’. It’s rather scathing about women’s outdoors clothing of the time. Viv.

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Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
A 1947 view of New Street with the Exchange Building and Stephenson Place to the left and Corporation Street going off to the right. Above the Barclays sign on the Exchange Building I think it reads Samuel Barlow Coal Co Ltd. The building with the columns would have been Midland Bank Ltd. Viv.

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A view showing the Waterloo Bar (right) on New Street, alongside Christchurch Passage. By 1927 the Waterloo Bar site would have been developed for Rowans Ltd, a clothing outfitters store.

And a glimpse of Pattison’s confectioners to the extreme right at #68. Viv.



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Vivienne14 said:
A 1947 view of New Street with the Exchange Building and Stephenson Place to the left and Corporation Street going off to the right. Above the Barclays sign on the Exchange Building I think it reads Samuel Barlow Coal Co Ltd. The building with the columns would have been Midland Bank Ltd. Viv.

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thanks for pics viv.i am sure i could smell baked potatoes coming from that pic:grinning:
 
Phil said:
Vivienne, Brunswick Buildings were just adjacent to Needless Alley.
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I had an Uncle who kept a wholesale tobacconist business in Needless Alley. I can remember going there with my father when I was quite small and being amazed at how tiny the shop it was inside. There was room for two people to stand side by side and uncle behind the counter. I wonder if it's still there.
 
BigJohn said:
I had an Uncle who kept a wholesale tobacconist business in Needless Alley. I can remember going there with my father when I was quite small and being amazed at how tiny the shop it was inside. There was room for two people to stand side by side and uncle behind the counter. I wonder if it's still there.
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hi john...if you would like to give us your uncles name and roughly when he had the shop some of our members maybe able to look in the directories for the number of the shop and then work out if its still standing

lyn
 
BigJohn said:
I had an Uncle who kept a wholesale tobacconist business in Needless Alley. I can remember going there with my father when I was quite small and being amazed at how tiny the shop it was inside. There was room for two people to stand side by side and uncle behind the counter. I wonder if it's still there.
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If you haven’t already checked this out, the thread below may help to jog some memories of where the shop might have been. Viv.

Needless Alley

I don`t suppose you remember the name of that cafe? Was it called Sarah's? I found this mention along with an old photo.... Needless alley Birmingham Warwickshire England. ... Sarah's Cafe, May 1960 I found this on Christine Hagemoen's fantastic blog, Vanalogue.
birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
BigJohn said:
I had an Uncle who kept a wholesale tobacconist business in Needless Alley. I can remember going there with my father when I was quite small and being amazed at how tiny the shop it was inside. There was room for two people to stand side by side and uncle behind the counter. I wonder if it's still there.
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There were lots of these tobacco seller kiosks in the town centre. I used to go to one I think in New Street after I returned from Jersey, it was the only place you could get Disqa Blue and Gitanes cigarettes from both French which most Channel Island people smoked. Smelt like smouldering camel manure they say.
 
devonjim said:
A Birmingham Mail "Starling" cartoon by Lewis Williams late 50's maybe 60's
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A bit of background to this mail cartoon. Public Works Dept had responsibility for health in city, starling murmuration resulted in autumn evening invasion of city, homeward bound workers were being "hit" and there was a daytime stench of soiled window ledges, a series of defensive measures were taken, sleeping birds were gassed, audio tapes of distressed birds were played, rubber snakes were put on window ledges, gelatinous paint used on roosting ledges, this upset RSPCA, bright lights in trees in city parks to attract birds from the city and finally electric fences were used fixed around windows, at last the birds were deterred. There were unsubstantiated reports that the birds moved to Rome!
 
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devonjim said:
A bit of background to this mail cartoon. Public Works Dept had responsibility for health in city, starling murmuration resulted in autumn evening invasion of city, homeward bound workers were being "hit" and there was a daytime stench of soiled window ledges, a series of defensive measures were taken, sleeping birds were gassed, tapes of distressed birds were played, rubber snakes were put on window ledges, gelatinous paint used on roosting ledges, this upset RSPCA, bright lights in trees in city parks to attract birds from the city and finally electric fences were used fixed around windows, finally the birds were deterred. There were unsubstantiated reports that the birds moved to Rome!
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i dont blame the poor birds for moving after all that harrasment
 
Terence David Lines said:
There were lots of these tobacco seller kiosks in the town centre. I used to go to one I think in New Street after I returned from Jersey, it was the only place you could get Disqa Blue and Gitanes cigarettes from both French which most Channel Island people smoked. Smelt like smouldering camel manure they say.
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I can remember tobacco kiosks scattered about. This one was more of a tiny shop inside the second or maybe the third building on the right as you went into Needless Alley from New Street. This would be end of the 40's or very early 50's.
 
not sure if this one has been posted before but better to have it twice than not at all...caption says corner of new st and high st...no date but looks to be taken in the 1940s/ 1950s...just look at all of those lovely old cars...

lyn

new st and high st corner.jpg
 
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A clear and open view in your B&W photo of the remains of City Arcade Lyn. And the quaint spire of the Cobden Hotel (first spire on the left) corner of Corporation Street and Cherry Street. Is it Barrows Restaurant (Union Street) seen between the City Arcade and the Co-op buildings ?

Must say the cars all look very, very clean.

Viv

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Astoness said:
not sure if this one has been posted before but better to have it twice than not at all...caption says corner of new st and high st...no date but looks to be taken in the 1940s/ 1950s...just look at all of those lovely old cars...

lyn
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View attachment 174033Probably late 1940s or early 1950s, because there are a few post war cars amongst them, 2 Standard Vanguards, Austin A40, Humber, Wolsey and some postwar Ford's. Can john from Staffs identify the yank next to the Vanguard? Notice how many black cars there are.
Bob
 
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Vivienne14 said:
A clear and open view in your B&W photo of the remains of City Arcade Lyn. And the quaint spire of the Cobden Hotel (first spire on the left) corner of Corporation Street and Cherry Street. Is it Barrows Restaurant (Union Street) seen between the City Arcade and the Co-op buildings ?

Must say the cars all look very, very clean.

Viv

View attachment 174034
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I wonder how/why this building survived? Great photo!
 
Vivienne14 said:
A clear and open view in your B&W photo of the remains of City Arcade Lyn. And the quaint spire of the Cobden Hotel (first spire on the left) corner of Corporation Street and Cherry Street. Is it Barrows Restaurant (Union Street) seen between the City Arcade and the Co-op buildings ?

Must say the cars all look very, very clean.

Viv

View attachment 174034
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Viv
The restaurant in Union Street has appeared in a previous post flagged as Kunzle's .... close-up attached is dated as 1953.
But it may have been Barrow's previously?

Union Street Kunzle Restaurant and Corner Cupboard PH October 1953.jpg
 
BigJohn said:
I can remember tobacco kiosks scattered about. This one was more of a tiny shop inside the second or maybe the third building on the right as you went into Needless Alley from New Street. This would be end of the 40's or very early 50's.
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I have been trying to remember where the big I think it was Scrivens sign was a neon with an Owl with large glasses on. Was it in Corporation St by the old C&A stores.
 
It was the top of Snow Hill:

Snow Hill (the Road)

No 28 Snow hill in 1920, the shop of Zissman Bros, maker of caps, with Myer Zissman on the left. There was also the premises Lazarus Zissman at no 82 Snow Hill, another cap maker. This part of the Zissman family moved to Birmingham in 1906 from Brick Lane in London, first to 52 Summer Row (my...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
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