^After years of banks splurging on wonderful buildings, they decided they could no longer be bothered to maintain these glorious structures. That and people now fully trusted banks with their money, so it was unnecessary to advertise solidity, trustworthiness and beauty through their architecture. One of our big banks (can't remember which one) purchased the Hamilton Loan and Provident building but wasn't interested in the upkeep. Down she came and up went that sh*t box.
Aside from cost, the sentiment at the time was that old was bad. Beauty, adornment, embellishment, ornamentation, at least in terms of architecture, was also frowned upon. Just look at what replaced it. It was a peculiar socialist architectural movement that resulted in exactly what you see on that corner today. I suppose it's a product of the economic situation at the time taken to extremes. It was a rare moment in history when everybody shared, almost equally, in the wealth we'd worked so hard to create. Steel workers made almost as much as bankers and so on. People felt architecture should reflect that reality. I wasn't alive so I'll never truly understand that level of insanity.
Anyway, this old beauty is long gone and as Pearlstreet suggested, a recreation would be nearly impossible. Cost notwithstanding, I dare say we no longer have the architectural know-how to accomplish such a feat. Where are the Scottish stone masons who carved this beauty out of limestone now? Deader than the craft that crippled them so long ago.
BTW, judging by the pomp and circumstance captured in that first photo, I'm guessing it was taken during a Royal visit of some sort. The telegraph poles, those nice looking bicycles (long gone is the penny farthing!) and the fashion (particularly those straw hats) lend further clues. With that in mind, I'd place the photo at 1901 when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York visited the city. I could very well be wrong, however.
Last edited by Dr Awesomesauce; Jun 10, 2013 at 1:06 AM.
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