Old Pictures of Cork City Mod Note #26

AugustusMinimus

Came across this picture so I said I'd put it up.

It's Merchants Quay before the development of the shopping centre. At a guess this photo was prob taken in the early 80s. I barely remember the street as it was. The best I remember of it was when it was mostly boarded up, awaiting demolition for the shopping centre to be built.

Any notable shops which had to make way ? I know Crowleys Music (McCurtain Street) had a 2nd shop on Merchants Quay. I believe there were a number of bars along the quay too.

Have to laugh at one thing. The public toilets on the right of the photograph are just about the only thing which still survives to this day

Anyone else have any photos to throw up ? I've seen quite a few photos from the 20s and 30s. The one's with the trams going up and down Patricks Street.

Would be interested in seeing what Cork City was like say in the 70s and 80s before a lot of redevelopment was done on the city centre. From what I know, a number of streets for instance had to make way for Merchants Quay. One lane ran down the side of Roches Store and is market by a gate on the side of the building today.

AugustusMinimus

Another few interesting images I found.

Bank of Ireland - South Mall


Shocking that they knocked such a fine old building for the monstrosity that is there no a days.



RTE Cork


A number of old buildings had to be knocked to facilitate the construction of RTE Cork on Fr Mathews Quay

AugustusMinimus

Here's a very interesting one. Red Abbey Street (just off of Douglas Street). If you do there now, all those houses have been felled and what remains is an open area in front of the Abbey ruins.





Here's the old Opera House which burned down in 1955






Here's what Sullivans Quay used to look like. They replaced the buildings on the left with the old tax office. Not the buildings on the top right were knocked (beside the South Gate Bridge) and replaced with the present car park.




Loads more of these photos at

http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/mapsimages/corkphotographs/

Pat Mustard

The burning of Cork City Hall on 11th December 1920.

[photo temporarily removed due to scaling issue]

wheresmybeaver

That's a great photo of merchants quay, thanks!

would love to see what the Paul st area looked like before they built the brutal Paul st shopping centre and car park - if anyone has a photo, please share!

vrobot

That Merchant's Quay photo is on the wall of Dan Lowry's pub - only spotted it recently.

What a contrast that street is to what's there today...

murphym7

Very old photo of merchants quay here: http://inphotos.org/2005/11/06/remembering-cork/

Solair

Merchants Quay SC is very much 'of its era'.

Ugliest buildings : old Govt / Fas offices, Merchants Quay, North Main St SC Car park (thankfully not as visible as it once was), rear of the Metropole and a few other buildings along that Quay.

A tasteful redevelopment of both sides of that Quay would transform the city centre!

hoodwinked

I love this one of Washington street flooded,



i guess its strange a: seeing how open it is compared to today,

and b: that over 100 years later it still floods that badly.

AugustusMinimus

Solair wrote: »

Merchants Quay SC is very much 'of its era'.

Ugliest buildings : old Govt / Fas offices, Merchants Quay, North Main St SC Car park (thankfully not as visible as it once was), rear of the Metropole and a few other buildings along that Quay.

A tasteful redevelopment of both sides of that Quay would transform the city centre!

Looking at some of the old picture, the following should eventually be done

1. Merchants quay knocked to the ground and replaced with something moresuitable. Clean up the Parnell Place side which looks terrible with it being the arse end of the shopping centre. Build tall to hide the multistory car park which prob won't be felled. Give the Merchants Quay side the appearance of having shop fronts.

2. Patricks Quay badly needs something done. It's absolutely horrid at the moment.

3. Movement the bus station from it's present location. It was supposed to be moved to the train station a few years ago but instead we got a half arsed redevelopment of it. Once gone, rebuild something suitable. More retail space.

4. Rebuild the buildings along the quay between the old Bank of Scotland and the South Gate Bridge. It looks shocking with the car park at the moment. Also return the street that existed between Grand Parade and South Main Street.

5. Do something about the quay section between the Coal Quay and North Main Street. The Shopping Centre basically removed shop fronts from the quay and replaced it with the car park entrance and the bank of Dunnes. Removing shop fronts from a quay, kills the quay.

Solair

There's been a common trend in Ireland up until the 90s anyway of destroying quayside areas.

I also suspect quite a few of those areas mentioned, particularly Grand Parade are tied up in NAMA. I can't really see much happening for quite some time as there already significant amounts of empty retail space in Cork. That new shopping centre that includes TKMaxx seems very slow to get going for example.

I'd say the most urgent issues are Patrick's Quay and ensuring the Grand Parade doesn't become dilapidated.

There's a serious risk that row of buildings where the old hotel / Sir Henry's and the Goat Broke Loose used to be will just turn into an eyesore.

They also really need to do something about the library frontage. It's hideous.
It's even worse when it's smeared with chip fat as is usually the case.

Someone also allowed some utility companies to install huge ugly cabinets in front of it too.

I'm also concerned that lumps were taken our of new paving, including on Patrick's St and have been tarmaced back. That kind of stuff is just not good enough.

Chazz Michael Michaels

Shame what they replaced it with. It reminds me of Ormand Quay in Dublin.

charlemont

It reminds me of Georges Quay, A hideous mish-mash of dilapidated buildings.

Patricks Quay should be sorted out too as its an awful sight, Especially the Hotel

The footpaths should have been built much wider around Merchants Quay, They are way too narrow and give a cramped feel.

Lyaiera

If anyone wants some great tunes and amazing video of Cork, the documentary on Rory Gallagher's '74 tour of Ireland has a good bit of video of him walking around Cork in the 70s. It's amazing seeing what's changed and what's stayed the same.

cookie75

That picture of Merchants Quay is in the Holly Bough with details of every building it was taken in the early 70s first on the left Queens Hotel closed 1978,

Gamb!t

Very enjoyable pics thanks OP.

Roar

Daunt Sq/Pana circa 1890 from Wikipedia



Pavilion Cinema (now HMV), unknown date

AugustusMinimus

I just about remember the Pav Cinema. Closed around 1989 or 1990 I think.

KCAccidental

look at the trams... what a shame we had to "modernize" to buses!

Balmed Out

some very good old and new pictures in these threads

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055936687

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056145173

ruserious

Cork City 1890c. Sorry for the size it came out as.

Roar

that's a superb picture. Might look at getting that printed and framed!"

razorblunt

I worked on a project in the Library to digitise alot of the photos from the Cork Camera Club etc they had in boxes whilst on a college placement. Have to say it's probably one of the most enjoyable month or two I've had working so far. They're all on the Cork Past and Present site which was already linked here on the 1st page.

the beer revolu

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

3. Movement the bus station from it's present location. It was supposed to be moved to the train station a few years ago but instead we got a half arsed redevelopment of it. Once gone, rebuild something suitable. More retail space.

I've no problem with the bus station moving location (although it is nice to have it in the centre) but I would go absolutely mad if the building was knocked. It is an iconic building of it's time - I really like it and was relieved that the redevelopment didn't destroy the building.

ruserious

Patrick's Bridge 1910.



c1910 also. Note the Union Jack here. The woman in black in the lower foreground running for the bus

AugustusMinimus

the beer revolu wrote: »

I've no problem with the bus station moving location (although it is nice to have it in the centre) but I would go absolutely mad if the building was knocked. It is an iconic building of it's time - I really like it and was relieved that the redevelopment didn't destroy the building.

In my mind, it's nothing more than a 1960s concrete monstrosity. Have to wonder how many terrace buildings were knocked to build it.

How much better would the entire quay look if both Merchants Quay and the Bus Station were replaced with tasteful buildings as seen on Patrick Street.

beer enigma

Lads some of these photos are huge & need rescaling as the thread has become unreadable - can you please attend or ill have to start deleting posts thanks

ruserious

Andip wrote: »

Lads some of these photos are huge & need rescaling as the thread has become unreadable - can you please attend or ill have to start deleting posts thanks

One is mine. No idea how to do so. Pehaps your Modabilities can facilitate such. T'would be a shame to delete them.
Ta.

Faith

ruserious wrote: »

One is mine. No idea how to do so. Pehaps your Modabilities can facilitate such. T'would be a shame to delete them.
Ta.

Use a photo resizing program. A quick google will give you links, I'm quite sure. It might be too late for you to edit your post now though.

mordeith

Faith wrote: »

Use a photo resizing program. A quick google will give you links, I'm quite sure. It might be too late for you to edit your post now though.

If you're on Windows then Microsoft Picture Manager will do it for you (well you have to tell it what size to make them obviously ). I'm sure there's a native Mac OS program that would do the same

the beer revolu

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

In my mind, it's nothing more than a 1960s concrete monstrosity. Have to wonder how many terrace buildings were knocked to build it.

Well, there we disagree.
Wouldn't it be a shame if in 100 years time there were no examples of 1960s buildings because everyone in 2012 thought they were all monstrositys?

What ever was there before it is long gone now, no point going on about them.

I like some old buildings, I also like some new buildings but I hate 'old style' buildings. I see no point in building things in the architectural style of approximately 100 years ago as you suggest for the quay, although I wouldn't shed a tear if MQ was levelled tomorrow.
The problem isn't modern architecture, the problem is bad modern architecture like Faulkner's Lane (some might know it as Opera Lane). And then the other problem is that what's good or bad is rather subjective.