UPDATE: #023 O'Neills, Curzon Street, Birmingham : 1998 to 2017 (RIP)

Back in 2011 when I first wrote this entry, I didn't know what was going to happen with this site. Below, you can see the final fate of this junction.

 

When I toured around the Digbeth area of Birmingham, O'Neills was a completely new place to me and, to be honest didn't look too appealing. This is the tenth in my 'Birmingham Eastside' series.

 However, as I've been doing some background research I've discovered that, in a previous life, this was the Old Railway, a popular music venue. More information is to be found here.


Moving on to 2011, and the title gives it away somewhat, this was the scene that presented itself to me.

Gone completely, yet the Give Way and street signs remain in exactly the same places! This was the sort of scene I expected to find when I set out on this project, but it is still quite a shock to find no trace of the pub. The building on the left, in the distance, is Moby Dick's which will feature later on in this series.


What the future holds for this area is still unsure. To the left of where the picture was taken is the Thinktank and behind me is the now defunct Curzon Street Station. If the HS2 High Speed Rail ever gets built, the Birmingham branch will terminate at Curzon Street, so maybe there will be more pubs opened/reopened in the environs. Well, we can hope!

 

So, here we are in 2017 and this is the current view of the corner of Curzon Street and Cardigan Street.

Now the Curzon Building of Birmingham City University stands proudly where once stood The Old Railway pub/O'Neills - I suppose that's progress!

 

Much work is still ongoing and I can report good news regarding Moby Dick's that was visible in 2011 from this position. It has survived and is now the student union bar. I couldn't get a photo as there is still a lot of construction work going on around it.

 

Progress has also been made on the HS2 Project and the new station will be directly behind where I was standing for this photo

Digbeth Update

It is almost three years since I went around the Digbeth area taking pictures of the surviving pubs. I was in the area this week taking pictures, mostly non-pub related and I noticed that in the passing three years very little has changed, at least as far as the pubs go (Lots of other things have changed, but the pubs seem to be quite stable for the time being). However there are a couple of examples that are worth reporting.

Back in 2011, the pub that was formerly The Carpenters Arms had been turned into the Moon Shisha Lounge (see #013 on this blog). Unfortunately that has now also closed. I'm not sure when it happened, but I don't think there is much chance of anything pub related returning to this site.

The other story is much more upbeat. In 2011 I wasn't sure whether The Woodman was still open nor what the future held for it (see #056 on this blog).

After I wrote that blog it was closed for some time, but since September 2013 it has been restored to its former glory and open for business again. I haven't been back in, yet, but the details can be seen here on their website.

Although it currently stands a bit on its own, hopefully, the development of the surrounding area and the building of HS2 will lead to a secure future for this magnificent building.

For any other Digbeth related information, I always refer to the excellent blog Digbeth is Good.

#056 The Woodman, Digbeth : 1998 to 2011 (RIP??)

The Woodman is one of the finest examples of what proper city pubs can be. It is one of the earliest of the pubs designed by James & Lister Lea. It is one of the pubs that I had occasionally visited before I took this photo in 1998.

As I remember, it has a compact front bar and a lovely, quiet back room that still had gas lights on the tiled wall. In 1998 this was still a busy and popular pub, but how times have changed.

In the intervening 13 years there have been massive developments in this part of Digbeth. The whole area behind The Woodman has been flattened and is now (or it was the last time I looked) somewhat neglected grassy area.

To give some geographical perspective, the city centre is off to the right. Behind me is the Thinktank which opened in 2001 and houses the Birmingham Science Museum and is part of the Millennium Point development. To the left of The Woodman is New Canal Street which leads to the old Curzon Street Station and the (closed) Eagle & Tun which was #032 in this series.

Curzon Street was the site of Birmingham's first raiway terminus and is a listed building. This will be the future Birmingham terminus of the HS2 High Speed Rail Line.

Here is the view from the back of The Woodman and the Eagle & Tun is to my right. These pubs are both under threat from the developers who have previous for demolishing old buildings that are in their way. Personally, I'd have thought that incorporating such lovely old buildings into a new development would make the final experience so much better. What could be better than to step off a high-tech, hi-speed train, that has whisked you to Birmingham from London in less than hour, into a lovely old pub for a pint? Obviously I'm biased, but surely even the developers can see the attractions of mixing the new with a bit of the old.

More about this can be found on the Digbeth is Good website which is better informed about these matters that I am!

This is the twenty-sixth in my 'Birmingham Eastside' series.

#040 Moby Dick's : 1998 to 2011 (RIP?)

Back in 1998 Moby Dick's was a completely new discovery for me down a side street I'd never been on before.

A typical street corner pub, similar to several others in the area. Needless to say, I never made it back there for a drink.

Onwards to 2011 and it is closed, boarded up and, by all accounts, ready for demolition to make way for the Eastside Locks Development. This is a new concept to me, but looks very good on paper, but whether there will ever be the money to complete the project is doubtful in this economic climate. 

Moby Dick's featured, in the distance, in #023 O'Neill's earlier in my blog.

This is the eighteenth in my 'Birmingham Eastside' series.