Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Photographers Gallery in London sets date to re-open

After more delays than a Sunday train trip on the East Coast Main Line, The Photographers' Gallery in London has set an opening date: May 19, 2012.

Images were last able to be gawped at in September 2010. The building is on Ramillies Street which is accessible through a narrow walkway from Oxford Street. 

The visionary new building was designed by Irish architects O'Donnell + Tuomey. I'm not sure if you've got them to thank or blame for the delay. It was supposed to re-open in 2011.

Perhaps not always showing the best exhibitions in London, The Photographers' Gallery at least always had the best book shop in the British Isles. The re-opening is worth it for that alone.

But, of course, the big question concerns a more pressing issue: Will the new building house a souped-up, improved and enticing new coffee shop?

The previous cafe in the Ramillies Street building was not a patch on the coffee house at its the old venue on Great Newport Street.

I have spoke previously about the need for photography galleries to sell tea and coffee to attract visitors.

Photography fans in Britain await May 19 with parched tongues.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Midland Hotel in Morecambe Lancashire, a retrospective

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The Midland Hotel in Morecambe is a Grade II listed building which has captured public fascination in recent years. It's the Art Deco style which has made it so loved.
Restored in 2008 by Urban Splash, it had been on its way to ruin after closing down several years earlier.
The Midland, designed by architect Oliver hill and sculptured by Eric Gill, was built in 1933 - though there has been a hotel on the site since 1848.
An episode of the TV show Poirot was filmed there in 1989.
These images were taken in the late 1990s (and possibly the year 2000). Do Not Use Without Permission.