Birmingham, the second-largest city of England, looked totally different in the 1980s. There were no Selfridges or Harvey Nichols, no Bullring as we know it today. Instead, you had to take your life into your hands as you ventured through the city’s subway shops and underground passages that are now filled in and long since vanished. The city was going through a major economic collapse due to the 1980s recession. The unemployment rates were also high outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts were common. Here below are some throwback photos that show what Birmingham looked like in the 1980s. Vote your favorites and also check, what Birmingham looked like in the 1960s.
Birmingham in the 1980s: Stunning Throwback Photos Show A Different City
My team of Network Rail contractors and I once went into the arches under Moor Street to try to find the original bull from the Bull Ring sign. It had been down there for some time after the redevelopment.
After unbricking a few walls to look into sealed areas, we could not find it. It was probably mangled and skipped at some point.
Are the contact lenses placed on Stephenson Street in the 80s still there above the Cafe Nero?
Moor Street station looks the same.
Forty years ago, the New Street Signal Box looked just as horrendous as it does today.
Why was a power station built within a city? The buildings are so dirty. It could film/camera technology, but air pollution is more likely.