Conic Section

Yesterday's staircase pops out of the top of this sliced blue cone. This is the Albemarle Music Centre  constructed to replace a plain brick building of such little note that hardly anyone can remember what it looked like. It's all part of the general development of Ferensway that includes the St Stephens shopping centre, a hotel and a theatre which I'll show tomorrow.
This is where the talented youths of the East Riding go to practice and play their instruments. The centre has two large rehearsal spaces and teaching rooms for the 16 Hull music ensembles as well as rehearsal space for the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra and the Yorkshire Young Musicians. It cost £3 million and opened in 2007.
Chris Hall of Holder Mathias Architects said: “The Albemarle Music Centre is a jewel in the St Stephen’s scheme. We have worked alongside the City of Hull and our client, ING Real Estate Development to create a building that will serve schools in the area well, and be something of which the people of Hull will be proud.” But then I guess he would say something along those lines. 

Spiral Staircase

After a few old and derelict buildings here's a new building, well at least the fire escape from a new building. I'll show you the building itself tomorrow.

Big apple

Around the corner from the Albert Hall stands yet another piece of dereliction and decay. I show you all the best bits of Hull. This is the New York. It was a thriving dive of a place until, as I recall, the early 1990s. It is now as you see it broken and unloved.
I mentioned when I posted about the Albert Hall that there were rumours of redevelopment. My researches have found that, indeed, planning permission for a brand new hotel to be called the Park was granted in 2008.  This would involve demolishing this whole block; I can't honestly say that I'll miss this particular building.

Picture Houses

This view has two of Hull's old cinemas. The Tower which I showed you a few days ago and the Regent which was built in 1910 and was open until 1978. The Regent is now a pub called Horners.
The archway is a side entrance to Paragon station. After taking this picture I noticed lots of signs threatening prosecution for trespassing on railway property so I left. 

Princes Quay Fountain

I had totally forgotten the date so when I discovered it was a new month I had to hunt down a fountain picture for today's theme picture. I took this in May last year; it has a nice rainbow in it.


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Albert Hall, Midland Street, Hull

In a seedy little street behind Hull's Paragon station stands this ruin of a building. Hull's very own Albert Hall once entertained up to 800 patrons with music hall variety acts. The days of music hall passed and the place became a straightforward public house and later a bingo hall called the Fair and Square Club. It's been closed for nearly forty years and is heavily vandalised. There were rumours of demolition and redevelopment but as I've said before these rumours amount to very little. If something isn't done about it soon I guess gravity, the weather and the thriving buddleias will have the final say.

There's an excellent web page on this building's history here.

It's all done by mirrors

This is Europa House on Ferensway and Anlaby Road. It's clearly been built with photographers in mind.

I posted some reflections from this building before here.