hkskyline
Active Member
Birmingham is the country's 2nd largest city and was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution - dubbed "the city of 1001 different trades". It was a manufacturing powerhouse, with its canals full of vessels transporting coal and iron among other goods.
Times have changed. Today, the city centre is a bit rough around the edges although there are many signs of rejuvenation with new residential skyscrapers but still plenty of empty lots awaiting new uses. My first impressions weren't so good. It felt a lot less safe than London and there didn't seem much to do, although the regeneration is quite visible so it'll take a bit more time for the new neighbours to settle and hopefully boot out the homeless and druggies.
Let's start with some skyline views. Beacon Hill is the highest of 4 hills in Lickey Hills Country Park at 298m. This area became a holiday playground for Brummies a hundred years ago already, when trams ran to Rednal from the city centre. You don't even need to hike to reach this place - there is a parking lot nearby and it's a nearly flat walk on the grass to this look-out point.
Now let's check out the city centre. Victoria Square and the adjacent Chamberlain Square stand right at the heart with Town Hall and the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery fronting it. The water feature was added in 1993, with the fountain able to release 3000 gallons of water down the steps in one minute.
New Street Station is a redevelopment from the 2010s that costed 750 million pounds. The 24m-high atrium brings in plenty of day light, with a stainless steel facade that looks like the building is wrapped in tin foil.
The Selfridges building is part of the Bull Ring shopping mall that opened in 2003, a huge retail-led rejuvenation project costing over 1 billion pounds. The outer skin is decorated with 15,000 spun aluminium discs, reflecting the sequins on a famous Paco Rabanne dress from the 1960s. Inside is a 270,000 square foot store.
Centenary Square is a wide public space fronted by a number of major civic buildings, including the Library, designed by Dutch architectural firm Mecanoo with interconnected rotundas and outdoor observation areas. It's a really nice free observation deck.
Similar to London, Birmingham has a few elaborately-decorated retail shopping arcades.
More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/birmingham.htm
Times have changed. Today, the city centre is a bit rough around the edges although there are many signs of rejuvenation with new residential skyscrapers but still plenty of empty lots awaiting new uses. My first impressions weren't so good. It felt a lot less safe than London and there didn't seem much to do, although the regeneration is quite visible so it'll take a bit more time for the new neighbours to settle and hopefully boot out the homeless and druggies.
Let's start with some skyline views. Beacon Hill is the highest of 4 hills in Lickey Hills Country Park at 298m. This area became a holiday playground for Brummies a hundred years ago already, when trams ran to Rednal from the city centre. You don't even need to hike to reach this place - there is a parking lot nearby and it's a nearly flat walk on the grass to this look-out point.
Now let's check out the city centre. Victoria Square and the adjacent Chamberlain Square stand right at the heart with Town Hall and the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery fronting it. The water feature was added in 1993, with the fountain able to release 3000 gallons of water down the steps in one minute.
New Street Station is a redevelopment from the 2010s that costed 750 million pounds. The 24m-high atrium brings in plenty of day light, with a stainless steel facade that looks like the building is wrapped in tin foil.
The Selfridges building is part of the Bull Ring shopping mall that opened in 2003, a huge retail-led rejuvenation project costing over 1 billion pounds. The outer skin is decorated with 15,000 spun aluminium discs, reflecting the sequins on a famous Paco Rabanne dress from the 1960s. Inside is a 270,000 square foot store.
Centenary Square is a wide public space fronted by a number of major civic buildings, including the Library, designed by Dutch architectural firm Mecanoo with interconnected rotundas and outdoor observation areas. It's a really nice free observation deck.
Similar to London, Birmingham has a few elaborately-decorated retail shopping arcades.
More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/birmingham.htm