Liverpool Blitz, Then & Now.
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Liverpool Blitz, Then & Now
This is the HMV shop window in Liverpool. It is on South John Street within the shopping and leisure complex at Liverpool One. The girls in the old photo below would today be walking past this window, albeit in mid air…
Below;
St John Street. Bombs fell here May 3/4 1941.
Photo used with kind permission of Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool Libraries.
www.liverpool.gov.uk/archives
Below;
This photo is taken from near to the viewpoint above. The actual viewpoint taken by the photographer 72 years ago was over to the left of my position. But here I could lean on the wall and get a nicer photo. HMV is on the right.
Below;
Identifying the spot; I wanted to get in the building which now houses Boodles (the white buiding) and the domed tower on top of the Royal Insurance Building. That view is now not possible to get after the redevelopment because Debenhams is in the way. You can see how the tower appears over the top of Boodles in the original (I have made this part of the original bigger and sharpened it up a bit) so the POV was to the left.
You do should a good job of documenting change in the various areas you photograph.
Class stuff mate!
Brilliant as usual Ian..Very clever, very informative..
Excellent as always, great investigative work 🙂
Good series Ian – I take it there are little or none of the old buildings left. I need to go back to the area as we only got a chance to look at the tourist stuff last time.
Very interesting Ian.
That 1941 shot really brings it home. Great job as always Ian. Only ever been there once and we went for wander around the waterside. Our son’s getting hitched there this year so another visit is coming up 🙂
Great work, as ever..
Neat series of shots, Ian, really paints a picture of the place. The approach to new shopping centres in Leeds seems to be to pedestrianise the streets and stick a roof over them. There are a few like that including the big new Trinity Centre. Seems to work quite well, and helps keep the city centre popular. None of which is really what your post is about. Sorry.
Its interesting to see that some of the old buildings still remain…. the domed one and the white building in your lower shot are notable constants. Looking at the one featuring Debenhams and the escalators, you gotta wonder at what these town planners are on… heavens, would anybody care in 60 years time if these were still there or not?
really interesting stuff Ian,seems hard to imagine it happened if it wasnt for the old photos and your narration
very interesting Ian , its a place i have to visit in the near future
Great series Ian – sadly not much imagination used on some of the new buildings featured 🙁
very cool series Ian, very interesting to see the before and ‘after’ views … this kind of thing, super tricky with the change in street layouts and yep, modern buildings. great to have that domed tower as a central navigation point, and that it remains today!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/davel59] sad to say, same thing applies over here in NZ …
Good info Ian. If it’s any consolation, the new buildings aren’t designed with a long lifespan so it won’t be too long before the skyline changes again!
Blimey liverpool has changed a huge amount since the war . Its barely recognisable . My Dad was a fireman there during the war .
what a difference
So many changes …. lordy mama …. but then I think back to the changes in me too…. and let’s not go there …. Ha !!!
Great work as usual Ian …well done mate
How different it all looks now. Great set of photos, Ian, as always. Our city centre is so different too – I wish I could go back in time and see for myself how it looked before it was all rebuilt after the war :~}
Great set of photos. Makes me feel very strange to see what Liverpool was like 70 years ago
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/24557420@N05] Thanks Liz, I appreciate your thoughts on seeing these images of your home town.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jainbow] Let’s have some Then and Now photos from Portsmouth, Jane!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/easy1955] Hi mate, good to see you!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/billycurrie] Cheers Billy
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44] Yeah I always think of your Dad and my Grandad. It is possible they knew each other….
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/scansfield] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/davel59] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/angwickham] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/amybigkiss] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopherjones] Thanks guys, sorry for the lateness of my reply. As for the new buildings… I think the architecture we have now is better than what went up in the 1960s but then the aim was to create something new, anything really so long as it filled the bombed out spaces and looked new.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/longsidepies] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/25305713@N04] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/reflectionsreturn] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/stiemer] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/nondesigner] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/11563376@N03] Thanks chaps, you’re too kind.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29730035@N04] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/cachelog] Liverpool is a terrific city to visit, lots to see and do. A good few days can be had without spending much money.