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.

2. Bomb damage, South John Street looking towards Lord Street 34 May 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.

048.30

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.

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21 comments on “Liverpool Blitz, Then & Now.
  1. rob of rochdale says:

    You do should a good job of documenting change in the various areas you photograph.
    Class stuff mate!

  2. salfordlad1 says:

    Brilliant as usual Ian..Very clever, very informative..

  3. Gizzardtreedude says:

    Excellent as always, great investigative work 🙂

  4. Tech Owl says:

    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.

  5. stiemer says:

    Very interesting Ian.

  6. crusader752 says:

    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 🙂

  7. nondesigner59 says:

    Great work, as ever..

  8. stopherjones says:

    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.

  9. amyrey says:

    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?

  10. SolarScot. says:

    really interesting stuff Ian,seems hard to imagine it happened if it wasnt for the old photos and your narration

  11. mick cooke says:

    very interesting Ian , its a place i have to visit in the near future

  12. Kingsdude/Dave says:

    Great series Ian – sadly not much imagination used on some of the new buildings featured 🙁

  13. cgullz says:

    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 …

  14. S Cansfield says:

    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!

  15. pasujoba says:

    Blimey liverpool has changed a huge amount since the war . Its barely recognisable . My Dad was a fireman there during the war .

  16. Billy Currie says:

    what a difference

  17. Marty 1955 ... says:

    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

  18. Jainbow says:

    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 :~}

  19. *Psycho Delia* says:

    Great set of photos. Makes me feel very strange to see what Liverpool was like 70 years ago

  20. Ian D B says:

    [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.

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