001. The infamous Rotunda, one of Birmingham's most famous buildings but very closely threatened with demolition recently. It was part of the ill-fated 1960s Bull Ring Shopping Centre and the Rotunda is now the only remaining part of it. It is currently being refurbished.
002. Looking along High Street towards Priory Square.
003. Priory Square, a Brutalist 1960s shopping arcade/marketplace. Although this building has a Brutalist design, the white finish makes it much more acceptable - if it was bare concrete it would almost certainly have been demolished by now!
004. Looking towards High Street.
005: Inside the Martineu Place shopping centre. The complex was originally designed in the 1950s, however it was has been given a modern makeover - a much better option than demolishing it.
006. A tall office building on Corporation Street with retail units at the base. Obviously a 50s/60s building, however it looks as though it is being given a makeover.
007. Another view of Priory Square.
008. Ornate buildings near Priory Square.
009. A better view of this building in its Neo-Gothic splendour.
010. West Midlands Fire HQ and the gigantic bulk of Aston University behind it. The left-hand building in the University complex is one of the largest (in terms of floor plate) office/educational buildings I have seen.
011. St. Phillip's Cathedral, set in one of Central Birmingham's few parks.
012. House Of Fraser department store (formerly Rackham's), viewed from outside St Phillip's Cathedral.
013. An interesting late Brutalist office building surrounded by towering Postmodernist structures.
014. A view from St Phillip's Cathedral park, dominated by a Brutalist high-rise office tower.
015. A closer look at aforementioned office block.
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016. The same building, looking up!
017. Victoria Square, one of Birmingham's main public spaces. In this photo, there is a German Christmas Market.
018. Victoria Square, showing a very grand civic building.
019. Birmingham Art Gallery & Museum.
020. Victoria Square.
021. Birmingham's Central Library, a fine example of Brutalist architecture.
022. Another view of Central Library.
023. Close-up of Central Library.
024. Adrian Boult Hall, with Central Library to the right.
025. More views of the Library complex.
026. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
027. The interior of Central Library. The scale of the internal space is simply breathtaking. The upper floors of the building contain the library itself while at ground level are shops and cafes.
028. Another internal view.
029. Central Library viewed from Centenary Square. A very imposing sight.
030. New construction taking place near Paradise Circus.
031. The Birmingham wheel in Centenary Square. Centenary Square itself has been taken up by a gigantic outdoor ice rink which accounts for all the marquees.
032. A very exciting derelict building near Centenary Square.
033. An annoying out of focus image looking North along Bridge Street. The now defunct ATV Studios complex is on the right.
034. Another view of the ATV Centre. Rumours of its demolition have been around for ages but fortunately it is still here for the moment. The complex was state of the art at the time of construction but the current trend of TV companies relocating to little more than an office containing a news studio took its toll.
035. The rear of the ATV Centre (I think), looking East along Holliday St.
036. Heavy traffic and flyovers are typical of Birmingham's Ringway inner ring road system, pictured here at Paradise Circus.
037. Part of the Library complex I think, looking North towards Paradise.
038. The Crowne Plaza hotel (left) and the Axis Tower on the right.
039. I took a trip on the big wheel and got some splendid photographs although they didn't come out too well through the glass. It's very good value, I had about five trips round although I felt very uneasy when it stopped at the top! This image is looking North with the Repertory Theatre to the bottom left.
040. A look at the big wheel.
041. Looking North East, showing Birmingham's very own BT Tower!
042. Looking West, the International Conference Centre (ICC) is in the foreground.
043. Looking East. This shot is dominated by the Library.
044. Looking South West, over Broad Street and Brindleyplace.
045. Looking South, with the ATV Centre to the bottom left. The Gas Street Basin can be seen to the bottom right.
046. The ATV Centre in all it's glory!
047. Another view of the ATV Centre.
048. Brindleyplace, a fine canalside development of posh shops and trendy bars.
049. The Gas Street Basin, the heart of Birmingham's canal network. Birmingham allegedly has more canals than Venice!
050. Gas Street Basin, looking South. The Canalside pub, far right is very nice indeeed.
051. Gas Street Basin, looking North.
052. Canal barges, Gas Street Basin.
053. A blurred photo looking South along the canal leading from the Gas Street Basin.
054. Another blurred photo looking North into the Gas Street Basin
055. Holloway Circus, part of the infamous Ringway. It has a Pagoda in the middle!
056. Another blurry photo! This one is looking along Smallbrook Queensway towards the Bull Ring.
An original image from almost the same spot!
057. The Bullring development. This image is dominated by the Rotunda, the only surviving part of the original Bullring Centre.
058. Birmingham New Street station, a dungeon-like railway portal. The Pallasades shopping centre is over the top and contains many chain stores.
059. Fantastic postwar retail architecture along New Street.
060. A closer look at the retail architecture.
061. Bronze Bull outside the Bullring. This has become an iconic symbol of Birmingham and this photo was taken in a rare moment when there was nobody posing in front of it!
062. Inside the Bullring. The place is gigantic and has three levels of shops.
063. Another icon of Birmingham, Selfridges & Co. This zany building is clad with thousands of shiny discs and is almost as zany inside as it is out!
064. Looking through the new street created through the Bullring. The old 1960s Bullring Centre blocked off this route when the centre was not open.
065. A close-up of the Selfridges building.
066. The Bullring, a very smart and modern building. However, will it be viewed as an old-fashioned eyesore in twenty years time like the original Bullring? Only time will tell.
067. Back of the Bullring. The extensive market area is to the left. Birmingham sports two indoor markets as well as outdoor stalls in this area alone, selling everything from fresh produce to electrical goods.
068. Selfridges & Co, showing a futuristic walkway to the car park.
069. As above
070. As above.
