RE: Iconic buildings of Birmingham, some still with us some now gone. - 3

They had the right idea about undressing facilities in those days, private cubicles in clear sight of the pool.

Seen this one Phil ?

John

No I had not seen that photo before, so thanks for posting it. I have this one that shows the same building along with a couple of others. But I didn't have one that shows the whole building.

Phil

It's from a site called oldbirminghampictures, some good stuff on there all Birmingham districts are covered by postcode.
Here's a couple I've got my doubts about, where do you think it is, before I tell you.
Forgot to wipe file name off so you will know now, but I'm not sure.

John

Before looking at the file name I had pegged the larger of the photos as Long Acre just before the bend in the road to Cuckoo Bridge but I would swear that the smaller on of the two is the bottom of Nechells Park Rd. But I think it is a bit older than I am so I can't really be sure.

Phil

VM & SB

Going back to an earlier thread The Chestnuts (The Cobblers?) I thought you might like to see these two photos. The interiors I know have little to do with the building but what the heck. If I go a little off thread I'm sure it will be ok.

Phil

Phil, It says both photos Long Acre.

I think this is one of the finest photos I've ever seen of Nechells Park Road.

The Nuts looks truly awful in those photo's Phil.
Just shows that you never be seeing the inside of a pub without a few beers inside you.

Thanks for the memories.

VM

That shot of Nechells Park Road has just surprised me.
I never conciously associate trams with their overhead cables. I see tracks and think tram or I see a tram and think tracks, yet I know they had power supplies.
That shot really shows how much street furniture they required.

VM

John

I know it says that both are Long Acre, its just when I saw them I immediately thought "that one is Long Acre and that one is Nechells Park Rd".

Your photo of Nechells Park Rd is a good photo, it looks very busy and whats more that is about the only decent photo I have ever seen of the White Swan on the corner of Cheatham St when it was a pub as it was bombed out during the war wasn't it?

Phil

VM

That would have been the hight of style for a pub when the Chestnuts opened in 1951. Whatever happened to Victorian & Edwardian opulence that pubs used to show.

Phil

VM. You say The Chestnuts looks truly awful. Thats how I remember the place when I first started using it.
The room with the carpet was the smoke room at the back of the pub, called the "Rowan Tree".
The room with the Tiled floor was the "Chestnuts bar". There was also my favourite room in the whole of Birmingham "The Willows Lounge" which I know you also knew very well.
I know the place looks pretty bleak, but I'm sure Phil and especially signman will tell you that is typical 60s furniture, design and decoration. I well remember the pubs around the old Bull Ring were designed in much the same way John may have called it minimalist I don't know. But pubs were busier in those days and most people were only interested how much a pint and a Babycham cost and couldn't give a toss about what colour the walls were or if the had formica tables. Thanks for the memories SB

SB

As you say vinyl table tops and floor tiles were pretty much the thing in pubs in the 60's. But there were one or two pubs that they built in the town that were a little bit classier when the first opened. The lounge upstairs in The Bull Ring Tavern (The Talbot) when it opened was quite nice and they did a good buffet there on the dinner times. I will admit other than the odd one or two if you wanted a bit of class you had to go to the older pubs.

Phil

Somewhere in the mists of time I seem to recall an actual tree in one of the rooms of the Chestnuts.
Graham, it is typical Retro style which people are trying now to replicate, especially in their kitchens, and paying a fortune for items such as melemine tea sets in pastel shades, art deco cruet sets, perspex moulded toast racks, etc, etc.
There are several shops here selling such stuff at exhorbitant prices, the thing is, we all had it at one time, if only we knew.
Take away the dart board and you could be in any club in America, as portrayed in the 40's black and white films, just stick a few gangsters in the seats.