Author Topic: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool  (Read 82055 times)

Offline Pistolero

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #120 on: January 28, 2016, 06:04:37 pm »
Probably only a footnote but worth mentioning that the National Express bus station on Norton Street has closed and the coaches' pick up have moved to the unused bus stops at Liverpool One.  Doubtless the "old" bus station (less than 20 years old I think) will make way for student flats.

http://www.sevenstreets.com/end-of-the-road-for-norton-street/


good article that....I'm also strangely fond of the Norton Street depot....shame to see it go..............and yes, student accommodation is planned for the site

Liverpool’s National Express station appears to have been earmarked for the latest student accommodation plans for the city centre.

The depot, which is set to close in January, has been named as the location for a 15-storey block proposed by developers Anwyl Construction.

If the proposals go ahead the building will be one of several huge accommodation blocks set to tower over drivers and offer a “gateway” to the city.


http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpool-national-express-station-could-10602212


as is always the case on any Merseyide based forum, for any student flats development - no matter how shite - the ubiquitous commenting c*nt John Bradley thinks its a great idea
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Offline CornerFlag

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #121 on: January 28, 2016, 06:49:55 pm »
So more student flats there as well as the ones they're going to lump on Lime Street/Bolton Street.  Nice one.
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Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #122 on: January 28, 2016, 09:15:04 pm »
Jesus.  Town's gonna be one big student ghetto, in as few years, if the developers get their way.

Is anyone even thinking about locals, and the local community!

Apartments, and student digs, that's all we're getting. No affordable housing, no retaining the existing communities. Nothing.





As the snow flies
On a cold and grey Mersey mornin'
A poor little student away and  brought
To the ghetto
(To the ghetto)

And the Scousers cry
Cause if there's one thing that they don't need
It's another one of the student breed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)

People, don't you understand
The locals needs a helping hand
Or they'll grow to be an angry mob hand some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads

And look the other way
As the world Learns
And a hungry little Scouse with a runny nose
Plays in the street in Newton Le Willows
And not the ghetto
(Not the ghetto)

And his hunger burns
So he starts to burn the oil at night
And he learns how to read
And he learns how to write
To return to the ghetto
(To the ghetto)

Then one night in desperation
A young man shakes and sways
He buys some gum, he steals a fart,
He phones his mum, she says don't get smart
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street, student loan in his hand
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)

As her young man cries,
On a cold and gray Mersey mornin',
Another little student away and brought
To the ghetto
(To the ghetto)

And his mama cries

Offline Red Beret

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #123 on: January 28, 2016, 10:00:19 pm »
Just think, if the council hadn't knocked down all those old tower blocks and flats they could have put all the students in them.

Same mistakes over and over.
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Offline CornerFlag

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #124 on: January 28, 2016, 10:45:08 pm »
Could have bunged them all in Bibby's warehouse too, beautiful building and would have been ideal as that sort of accommodation too.
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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #125 on: April 4, 2016, 08:08:13 am »
Crazy that in a slightly obscure anime movie, Bebop Cowboy, there should be a homage to Probe records!!






Offline SamAteTheRedAcid

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #126 on: April 4, 2016, 09:28:29 am »
Hahaha that is a great spot that mate!
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Offline dave 5516

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #127 on: April 4, 2016, 06:11:01 pm »
I spent many happy hours in there.....and quite a few pounds.
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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #128 on: April 5, 2016, 10:10:45 am »
Though I don't agree with the amount of student flats being built there is one plus point is that the houses in the smithdown/wavertree area will be brought back into ownership by families , a landlord I do work for was bemoaning how he is struggling to rent his student house around penny lane and will now probably sell it ...though the cheeky bleeder said I've only ever had to give it a lick of paint every year , nothing else .

Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #129 on: April 5, 2016, 03:04:02 pm »
Chauffers Hope st,nice one Andy..that was once our team in the business houses league way back then..

Scotch Jimmy had it then back in the day..memories flooding back here,most of our team got barred from the Irish centre,end of season hooly-one of a few regrets at the time.

Will read thro a bit later..has Maxims been mentioned? 😄

Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #130 on: April 5, 2016, 05:04:06 pm »
Yeah probably the same place - it was a converted fire station too..



Yep both names were used,same gaff.

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Surprised nobody has mentioned the Wooky Hollow!
« Last Edit: April 5, 2016, 05:06:14 pm by DAVO1 »

Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #131 on: April 5, 2016, 09:47:53 pm »
Anyone ever remember the blue, hard plastic skates that you used to rent?

Proper heel skin strippers they were.  ;)


Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #132 on: April 5, 2016, 09:49:40 pm »
And....... whilst not strictly, 'Liverpool', it still holds a lot of memories for Scousers of a certain generation.


Offline CornerFlag

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #133 on: April 5, 2016, 10:14:54 pm »
Just on the borderline of my memory, the Baths.  Was dying but it should have never gotten to the stage where it was destroyed in that storm, would be a great focal point in a rejuvenated New Brighton.


The tower
The league football team
The tower grounds
The tower ballroom
The pier
The baths
The majority of Victoria Road
The Hotel Victoria...

A century of change, not always for the better.  Hope one day there's a pier again at least, imagine this: a New Brighton, Woodside (with a rebuilt Birkenhead Woodside station) and a pier head ferry service, with an extended service for the Echo Arena/Exhibition Centre & Seacombe (possibly with a stop Bootle-way)

A man can dream...
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Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #134 on: April 6, 2016, 10:09:28 am »
Richie,

Any photo's of those in the middle of a mini crawl between the glebe & the salutation would be much appreciated-also,do you have any of the Tramways & the Sefton westminster road,which is/was opposite the old bill.
« Last Edit: April 6, 2016, 10:12:30 am by DAVO1 »

Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #135 on: April 6, 2016, 11:00:08 am »
Davo.  The Tramways and Sefton were gone, before the project started.   The sefton, I think was latterly Rooney's bar, wasn't it?  Still standing but now derelict.

As for the others. do you want external shots, or internal?

I'll do them in the next day or two. The photo's are on my other PC.



Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #136 on: April 6, 2016, 11:35:15 am »
Davo.  The Tramways and Sefton were gone, before the project started.   The sefton, I think was latterly Rooney's bar, wasn't it?  Still standing but now derelict.

As for the others. do you want external shots, or internal?

I'll do them in the next day or two. The photo's are on my other PC.




Yeah the Sefton was rooneys bar & you are right it is now derelict,such a shame.
The Tramways is now a convenience store,another that fell into disrepair the same way a shed load went at the same time.
Internal fotos please,a bonus would be the back room of the carisbrooke which was once called the 'bus stop' i think.
The red brick prior to its upgrade would be something special & the Netley which i think is now a pizza house or something alike.
You dont realise how good some of these places were until they're gone,too many have lost all their charm/character 'upgrading' too.

Offline only6times

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #137 on: April 6, 2016, 01:25:55 pm »
Crazy that in a slightly obscure anime movie, Bebop Cowboy, there should be a homage to Probe records!!






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Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #138 on: April 6, 2016, 07:43:42 pm »
Yeah the Sefton was rooneys bar & you are right it is now derelict,such a shame.
The Tramways is now a convenience store,another that fell into disrepair the same way a shed load went at the same time.
Internal fotos please,a bonus would be the back room of the carisbrooke which was once called the 'bus stop' i think.
The red brick prior to its upgrade would be something special & the Netley which i think is now a pizza house or something alike.
You dont realise how good some of these places were until they're gone,too many have lost all their charm/character 'upgrading' too.
Right. The request was from The Glebe to The Salutation.  That takes in - The Glebe - The County - The Cheppy - Players (formerly Orry's) - The Harlech - The Carisbrooke - The Brick - The Royal Oak - The Springfield - The Salutation. ....... Throwing in the four that have closed down. - The Netley - The Tramway - The Sefton(Rooneys bar) - The Old Bill.


Bearing in mind that the project ran from 2010 - 2013, by then some of the pubs had shut, or been remoddled, and the old interiors ripped out etc. Also the Red Brick had already had the 'Red' dropped by then.

I've probably got about 6-12 interior shots from each pub, but to keep it simple I'll just post one or two from each one.


Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #139 on: April 6, 2016, 07:46:17 pm »
Cheppy - Players (Orry's) - Harlech

Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #140 on: April 6, 2016, 07:48:14 pm »
Carisbrooke - The Brick

Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #141 on: April 6, 2016, 07:50:43 pm »
Didn't get any interiors from the Royal Oak.

The Springfield - The Salutation.


Offline Big Red Richie

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #142 on: April 6, 2016, 07:52:58 pm »
And last but not least, the ones that have gone.

The Tramway - The Netley - The Sefton(Rooney's) - The Old Bill.


Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #143 on: April 6, 2016, 09:16:20 pm »
Fantastic collection Richie,great work & thanks!

Possible face or 2 familiar there

Offline Pistolero

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #144 on: April 7, 2016, 07:44:40 pm »
did a double take when I saw this  :o....amazing how much it's changed!!


They have life in them, they have humour, they're arrogant, they're cocky and they're proud. And that's what I want my team to be.

Offline Pistolero

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #145 on: April 7, 2016, 11:44:42 pm »
btw, if you haven't worked it out yet...the bit in the bottom right hand corner is the roof of The Royal Court
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Offline Brissyred

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #146 on: April 8, 2016, 05:15:47 am »
Who remembers the skinheads outside of there taking umbrage to feather cuts in the 80's?

I remember that, there was always at least 3 skinheads hanging round outside, dunno why tho'

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #147 on: April 8, 2016, 08:10:43 am »
did a double take when I saw this  :o....amazing how much it's changed!!






Remember seeing Paul Walsh in that building many a time in the 80s ...rockfords it was called then became a Chinese

Offline SamAteTheRedAcid

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #148 on: April 8, 2016, 09:58:15 am »
That's crazy different! Wow.
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Offline Alf Garnett!

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #149 on: April 8, 2016, 12:40:54 pm »

Offline only6times

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #150 on: May 3, 2016, 09:06:43 pm »
The Wilsons/ Freewheelers.
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Offline Pistolero

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #151 on: May 17, 2016, 11:15:40 pm »
They have life in them, they have humour, they're arrogant, they're cocky and they're proud. And that's what I want my team to be.

Offline monkeyharris

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #152 on: May 25, 2016, 09:15:25 pm »
Fascinating documentary on BBC 4 now by Nick Broomfield about the Wellington Rooms aka the Irish Centre
Revisiting a doc he did years back
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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #153 on: May 25, 2016, 09:47:04 pm »
Yeah just watched that, it was brilliant.  Always wondered what that building was, some great old footage too.

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #154 on: May 25, 2016, 09:57:25 pm »
Well worth a watch on the iplayer for those who missed it..now iits moved onto Cardiff Coal exchange..nothing to do with Liverpool but what the fuck are Cardiff council playing at letting this place rot?
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Offline CornerFlag

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #155 on: May 25, 2016, 10:53:07 pm »
Well worth a watch on the iplayer for those who missed it..now iits moved onto Cardiff Coal exchange..nothing to do with Liverpool but what the fuck are Cardiff council playing at letting this place rot?
Wow that's a beautiful building.
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Offline moondog

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #156 on: May 26, 2016, 12:19:03 am »

This is a great feature on Getintothis website, Paul Fitzgerald has written a series of pieces about places, events and people gone but not forgotten in Liverpool over the last 40 years. His latest is below and I'm sure he wont mind me posting it here, the pictures are on the getintothis link

http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2016/05/lost-liverpool-8-trading-places-holmes-buildings-sweet-smell-creativity/#comments
 

In the latest of his Lost Liverpool series, Getintothis’ Paul Fitzgerald looks back to a late 80s scene based in a sweet smelling location, where creativity and artistic collaboration blossomed over cups of tea and homemade Homity Pie.


In 1987, Wood Street was an untouched and slightly neglected part of town. The sort of place that felt damp and dank even when the sun shone. The only bar was The Swan, and a certain amount of bravery was needed for those passing through its portal. There was the odd factory, Mantunna Tea still had a factory in the building that latterly housed Korova, and at precisely 4.15pm every afternoon, an alarm would sound and hordes of women in pale blue work tunics would emerge, sparking up the minute their feet hit Wood Street, as they hurried off for the bus home. There were some warehouses still in use, others deserted.

Concert Square was a waste ground apart from a dodgy car park, and an even dodgier sweat shop, where cramped and unhappy workers toiled for ridiculously long hours, silently hunched over huge sewing machines. It was a grey and dark former industrial landscape, a darkened back street with an imposing and intimidatory feel and a certain level of unspoken threat.

Despite being just 100 metres or so from the slowly declining grandeur of Bold Street, it could feel at times as though that short walk through brought you to another time, a different place. A place where your presence could feel unwanted, and you’d be more than happy to leave. At once an architecturally impressive, but ultimately grim and colourless mix of former warehouses and merchant’s town houses. Fleet Street, Seel Street, that whole area behind Bold Street and through to Duke Street, some 30 years later to be rebranded and renamed the Ropewalks area, was the same. A sad representation of its former self.  Forgotten, held in stasis, a moment in time, where pigeons ruled and bands went for photo shoots, its depressing dereliction an all too often, and all too impressive, backdrop for the lens.

On the corner of Wood Street and Concert Street stands Holmes Buildings, a vast brownstone former warehouse, stretching right back to Fleet Street. For over 100 years, it had been a factory involved in the manufacture of flavouring essences for sweets. You could smell its history throughout the building, behind every door, in the floors, the walls, a thick heavy sugary sweet smell ingrained into its very fabric. Even now, for those who got to know the building well, the smell is the first thought, the initial powerful memory of Holmes Buildings.

In 1987, Andrew Erskine was an idealistic 20 year old with a plan, based loosely around the idea of bringing something similar to Manchester’s Afflecks Palace to his hometown. A cool hangout, shops, a cafe, somewhere to play great music, somewhere the ‘alternatives’ could call home. A base for the different, the unusual, the creative, independent thinkers, those who, like Erskine himself, possessive of a need to carve their own path, light their own highway, were driven by their passion and spontaneous energy, and not much else.

Donald Barnes had acquired the building with the settlement from his early semi-retirement from his job as a marine draughtsman, and though he was passionate about the place he had little idea of what to actually do with these four huge floors of sweet scented nothingness. After a none too lengthy period of negotiation, they agreed that Erskine should take the ground floor for his project, and work began on developing the space, a former security company’s office and sales area, into a cafe, and a handful of shops.

‘He had nobody else interested when I rolled up, but I thought this was the best location in town, Macmillan’s helped, as that was one of our main hangouts at the time’ he recalls. (MacMillans was a basement club and venue over the road). Cost was king at this point, but with limited funds, a curious and enterprising nature, and the help of a few friends, the plan began to be realised. The cafe occupied much of the area, facing onto Wood Street, and there were three shops initially, a second hand Levi’s shop, a one chair barber called Suedehead, a limited edition T shirt shop, Cause Without A Pause, and Prime Examples, an art and photography shop, owned by Liverpool photographer Mark McNulty, and his partner Jane Scott.

Trading Places opened in the Spring of 1987, with a rare Saturday afternoon acoustic gig by Shack‘s Mick and John Head, playing songs from their recent album, Zilch, to a cafe full of people enjoying endless cups of tea.

Shack Trading Places
Shack at Trading Places – pic: Mark McNulty
 

Trading Places soon blossomed, with Erskine adding extra rooms, record shops, poster shops, and live performances, including one notable recital in a back room by Benjamin Zephaniah. As time passed, the café at Trading Places increasingly became a target destination of some of the city’s creative heads, who sought solace, shelter and comfort behind its huge windows, with its Homity Pie, baked potatoes and cool playlists. A cultural community began to build, forged in this sweet smelling place, and in search of its own space. Donald Barnes could help. And he did. In fact, he relished the chance to be involved. Above the heads of the heads stood vast open spaces, huge empty and unused rooms. Barnes caught on quick, seeing and opportunity, and seizing it with glee, he began to let out areas, build walls, and to provide the infrastructure. These were exciting and interesting times, as the building sprang to life.

NACRO took a space at the rear of the building to teach music to ex-offenders. The Farm‘s Keith Mullin and Peter Hooton were both involved. The band’s drummer, Roy Boulter gave drum lessons in a disused giant walk in fridge. Mark McNulty first took a darkroom from fellow photographer Sol Popadopolous (now co-owner of Hurricane Films with Boulter), and then built his first studio, beginning by photographing the building’s growing community, and cataloguing the times. Indie club and gig promoters, Keith Curtis and Andy Mitchell took an office for their huge Temptation student nights. Eventually The Farm took space on the top floor for their label Produce Records. Urban Strawberry Lunch took the basement, renamed it The Bunker, and would spend hour after hour building instruments out of found materials, and banging out junk rhythms, bringing the beat to each and every day, a huge clanging industrial rhythm to soundtrack all this productivity. The very pulse of this busy, energetic, 24hr creative community.

Carl Hunter of The Farm recalls “I loved Holmes Buildings, it was a creative hub where bands, designers and photographers could work and hang out. The Farm had a rehearsal place in there, great memories, I can still smell vanilla when I think about it. I worked with Miles Falkingham when he had a design studio there. We’d artwork Farm record sleeves and other wonderful projects, then eat Homity Pie in the café on the ground floor. Happy memories.”

Find the city’s forgotten treasures with Paul’s Lost Liverpool archive.

And so, bands rehearsed, artists worked long hours, theatre companies devised new pieces, promoters sent faxes and took deliveries of posters for their next big show, photographers worked on exhibitions, comedy promoters booked acts, there seemed to be an endless flow, a relentless surge of positivity. and in the café at Trading Places on the ground floor, collaborations were formed, ideas developed. Again, endless cups of tea.

It was a time and a place of endless creation, feeding itself on the energy, innovation and productivity of the participants, an organically grown community of like-minded artistic souls, a time of improvised thoughts, and a real celebration of the city’s artistically productive leanings. Bringing life, colour and light back into a previously unloved space, and sending shafts of creative inspiration out across the city centre, inspiring, motivating and stimulating. Anything seemed possible. Everything seemed possible. Attainable.

Looking at Holmes Buildings today, and the surrounding area, it’s nigh on impossible to visualise the harsh and dirty unloved environment, the backdrop against which this activity, these heady and wonderful times, took place.  As a result of that initial Shack performance, the Head brothers asked Andrew Erskine to become their manager, and off they went together to begin work on recording Mick’s new songs, which would become the classic Waterpistol LP. What is absolutely certain is that Trading Places was the catalyst for this creative community, the beating heart of the building, and that he, together with Donald Barnes‘ unbridled enthusiasm for the project, kickstarted the whole process. Further, it could even be argued that the redevelopment of the Ropewalks area was springboarded by the existence of Trading Places and the creative community of Holmes Buildings.

As we see time and again, the wheel must keep turning, and these moments become history soon enough, making way for other movements, other scenes, and that process in turn brings vitality and maintains relevance for every creative community.

Ambrose Reynolds, of Urban Strawberry Lunch, current (and hopefully future) custodian of The Bombed Out Church knows this all too well.

“I remember Holmes Buildings so fondly, it was a place that typified everything that is great about Liverpool. So many different and diverse talents working away under one roof. Unfortunately Liverpool is a city that eats its young, it produces wonderful, inspiring places, then tears them down again. The Shiva syndrome, creation and destruction, hand in hand, is what makes the creative force of the city so irrepressible and dynamic.”

Now, maybe more than ever, that is so.

I can still smell the sweets.

Offline kavah

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #157 on: May 26, 2016, 04:23:45 am »
^ great article and a great series -  just read article #6 the Arthur Lee one. Thanks for posting the link

Offline The Gulleysucker

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Re: Older places that have gone/changed in Liverpool
« Reply #158 on: May 26, 2016, 09:04:18 am »
Fascinating documentary on BBC 4 now by Nick Broomfield about the Wellington Rooms aka the Irish Centre
Revisiting a doc he did years back

It was indeed.

At my sons graduation the other year,  my Wife and I walked past the building and I pointed it out to her as of merit, I vaguely remember going in there once to some event back in '69 or '70, some distant relatives wedding reception or something, but to be honest I didn't know it had been empty for so long.

It's a shame that I was a bit unappreciative of the architecture at the age I was back then, that ceiling was obviously once gorgeous, but I suppose like many, I just assumed such buildings would be around forever and in use, carefully tended by our Corporation overlords.

I should have guessed that just like the Futurist, and so many other structures from my youth now long gone, that instead our great civic leaders would just let it rot.

Think how many student flats you could sqeeze onto that plot....
I don't do polite so fuck yoursalf with your stupid accusations...

Right you fuckwit I will show you why you are talking out of your fat arse...

Mutton Geoff (Obviously a real nice guy)

Offline only6times

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bitter,not me.a granddad,but I'm not even 40