Old Birmingham pictures

[Smileyface]

Here's another oldskool BT Tower one

[smysticed]

Cheers Smiley!

Sometimes I wish I could have been around in the sixties to see the huge changes that took place - must have been so exciting. Our current construction 'boom' is nothing really, back then the whole city was completely changed. Not necessarily for the better, but exciting nonetheless

[Smileyface]

I love seeing the changes that have taken place in our city over the years and the best way to do this (apart from personal recollection) is comparing similar photos taken years apart. I tried this with Hockley Flyover but, I think, it would be "educational" to take present day photos using the same angles as some of the pics on here and to post them on this thread against the originals!

Hockley Flyover 1968


Hockley Flyover 2005


Some folk mentioned how sterile Birmingham looked back in the late 60's....no organic matter cluttering up the viewfinder, just concrete, tarmac and greyness

[smysticed]

Indeed - where the hell have all those trees suddenly appeared from in 4 years?

That sounds like a cool idea, would be worth a wonder round town with some old pics to try and get some current-day equivalents.

[Smileyface]

I reckon the forumers on here ought to choose some views from the 60's/70's/80's for the camera boys to try and capture the 2007 equivalent or as close to it as they can. Obviously, airborne shots are out of the question!

[smysticed]

Unless a plane happened to fly 140-odd metres above the future site of the V-Building

But that indeed sounds fun, I might have a go at that over the summer when the bloody weather has cleared up a bit!

[mk61]

Good pics there

This one initially left me completely disoriented until I spotted Navigation street and Hill street by the old nss.

[feltip]

Well there are two here which seem relatively easy.
The old BT tower looks spooky, very Survivors and end of world survival.

[Elizabeth Kinoke]

just wow at so many amazing pics... has stirred my own soul to find some gems

[ultraviolet]

Apologies if this was on the old thread but there's some great comparisons here of Brum in the 60's to Brum in 2005.

http://www.photobydjnorton.com/Birmingham.html

[Erebus555]

The big car park area off New Street is now the dreaded Big Top.
Read my blog about the history of it if you like! http://expbirmingham.wordpress.com/2...opping-centre/

[Erebus555]

Here's some more oldies from around 1976 and earlier:


Looking over Cambrian Wharf:

Snow Hill to the right:

Gas Street Basin:


To the right would be NIA. This is Old Turn Junction:

Ladywood end of Oozells Loop. The canal is now flanked by apartments:

Granville Wharf 1982:

Looking towards the Axis building:

Warwick Bar:

Not too sure where but it is in the Eastside vicinity (all demolished):

View towards Nechells power station (now Starcity):

Outside Birmingham: This is the pumphouse at the top of the Oldbury LOcks in the Black Country. It has since been refurbished and the canal restored.



This website is great as well: http://www.pbase.com/beppuu/old_bham

[Erebus555]

Another Nechells power station view:

[Erebus555]

One Stop under cosntruction in 1990:

[Steve-e-b]

I noticed Centenary Square is in the top right corner of this picture. I know the square was created just before WWII, for Birmingham's grand civic centre plan, but was it called Centenary Square back then?
I originally assumed, due to its name, the square was created back in 1989 to celebrate the city's centenary. Also, last summer when the BBC were in town they did a news report from outside Symphony Hall and described Centenary Square as "one of the new public spaces in Birmingham". Maybe they were referring to the fairly recent refurbishment rather than the creation of the square, which was over 60 years ago.

[Erebus555]

I think they mean the refurbishment of the square. Back in the past, the square was a dire place to be. It was just a stretch of wasteland with this ornate looking hall of memory plonked at one end on a giant rocky outcrop (hence it's slightly elevated position today). I don't think it had a name back in the past was it was to be the development site for the Civic Centre, of which only Baskerville House was constructed.

[fruit&nut]

Originally Posted by Erebus555

The big car park area off New Street is now the dreaded Big Top.
Read my blog about the history of it if you like! http://expbirmingham.wordpress.com/2...opping-centre/

You can see the old Josiah Mason college and the old library in the distance top right... ....and the original bull ring is still there too!

[Bachy Soletanche]

That referb was total disaster wasn't it?



What was the tower thing in backgeround? School which is now Ikon?

[fruit&nut]

Originally Posted by Erebus555

I think they mean the refurbishment of the square. Back in the past, the square was a dire place to be. It was just a stretch of wasteland with this ornate looking hall of memory plonked at one end on a giant rocky outcrop (hence it's slightly elevated position today). I don't think it had a name back in the past was it was to be the development site for the Civic Centre, of which only Baskerville House was constructed.

Yes. Centenary Square was created in 1989 when they refurbished the whole area outside the rep, Bingley Hall (where ICC now is) and Baskerville House.

It was previously just an open grassed area, with the Hall of Memory at one end at the collonades right across the middle half way. That was to screen the Hall of Memory from the awful Bingley Hall.

They created Centenary Way - the bridge from the library to Centenary Square - at the same time. This was the first stage in the downgrading of the inner ring road!

[fruit&nut]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

That referb was total disaster wasn't it?



What was the tower thing in backgeround? School which is now Ikon?

Yes! The old tower is Oozles St school that became IKON. To the right of that is either part of Butlers Brewery or maybe Bingley Hall!