From Bull Ring to Bullring: Redevelopment timeline 1998 - 2003

Central News and BBC local news archive footage

[@suzanne9696]

I remember in 2001 going past on the 50 bus, and everyday I’d watch them building the bull ring! Can’t believe it’s been up for 20 years now.

[@topquark6919]

I remember Birmingham city centre from the 1980's. Busy & bustling retail outlets. Now, so many empty shops & stores. It's tragic.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Hopefully it will pick up again. But it may be yet another victim of evolution with retail shoppers now turning to online shopping. I hope not. I think there will always be a place for high street shopping.

[@user-mc1yd9bp5x]

Plandemic

[@horuslupercal2385]

Birmingham has needed revitalising over years, but the city centre has had its soul ripped out. Shop rates/prices are sky high, and recent moves to pedestrianise the centre makes it less appealing to visit. Also, the demolition of the old Central Library is unforgivable 😪

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Everything is changing now. I hardly recognize it from the old Birmingham and I am nearly 45. I dread to think how out of touch I am going to be when I hit 50 or even 60. That's life I guess. Everything moves on. It is up to us to either move with it or get left behind. Ill never forget those days though. The old Bullring and the indoor markets are still to this day very near and dear to my heart. I worked there as a kid and I loved the banter and the atmosphere.

[@KanyesBreasts4]

​@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 Just imagine how different it will look 60 years from now. Look at the change from the 60s to the late 90s. And that was only 30 years. I'm 42 and vividly remember my mom dragging me round the old outdoor/indoor markets. And C&A. She always took me to the Oasis Market aswell, which pretty much looks the same. There's a shop called Hypnotic that's still there now from when I was a kid/teenager. Practically all my clothes came from there!

[@dmomcilovic9185]

Thanks for this upload, gave me a lump in my throat. I visited Brum last month having not been for 15yrs, all memories GONE

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

When I first did the Bullring (Then and Now) 12 minute documentary I got a bit emotional when I edited the 60s arrival of Bull Ring Center because it was so personal. I worked in the indoor market for a stall called Pets Choice and my Auntie and Uncle use to own I (Jim and Margie Wise). They, my Mom and two other friend Christine and Tracy use to work my little ass off but I learned about hard work ethic. I use to fain headaches (As kids do) because I wasn't use to the hard work. What changed me was when I saw my Uncle Jim turning up throwing heavy sacks of pet food from the van at me and I had to keep up with the pace. He was going through chemotherapy at the time for his cancer and this man was chucking heavy sacks at me like it was nothing! I admired him and looked up to him. It was from there on I released if he can do this then I have got absolutely NO excuse as a health young kid. I think about him and Chris (Who have both passed away since) every time I watch that part. I'm not ashamed to say I get the odd tear, lol.

[@misterspitfire6564]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 I'm a Brummie through and through, and I hete the place now!

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@misterspitfire6564 I don't live in Brum anymore but I still work there. It's all changed now. Buildings are flying up at a fast rate and it looks very sterile compared to yesteryear. One thing that has no changed is the people and the homelessness. The homelessness is very saddening. I don't hate the place at all but it has changed with the times and become very commercialised. I've nearly been hit by trams because I just cannot get used to them being there and in some part's of the town that I've walked through hundreds of times over the years I have now felt lost because so many things have been demolished and replaced. It's like I don't recognise my own town anymore.

[@misterspitfire6564]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 I completely agree - it's not the city that I remember and loved as a child. Nothing ever seems permanent or finished...!

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@misterspitfire6564 Winds of change my friend. We are witnessing it. Just like our Grandparents and parents before us. You can’t stop change or evolution. My Auntie once lived in Brum town with her husband. She was bought up in Ladywood with my Dad before moving to Quinton in the 60’s. They were dirt poor before she began her business with her husband. She told me that she saw the town change three times. Pre 60’s when the markets and trams were relevant, the height of the 60’s when the car was king and international indoor shopping centres became the new thing, and today with European style, sterile shopping destinations and big brand names. We will probably only see it change twice in our lifetime and this will be the final time. We can’t stop the winds of change brother. Just cherish the days gone by and adapt and move on I guess.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

The 1960's Bull Ring Center was a revolution in it's time, it was a copy of an American Shopping Mall, fully enclosed, had a Bus Station a car park with a lift and was fully under cover and the first of its type in the UK, but as the years went on and more modern Shopping Centers opened up, the Bull Ring stated to become out dated and shops started to close, Birmingham city Council decided it required rebuilding and so was demolished leaving a massive hole in the ground for some time until the new foundations went in for the present new Bull Ring Shopping center showing up a lot of ancient archaeological history of Birmingham, this also happened when the built the Queens Way Tunnels, they then built the new Bullring Center which makes Birmingham proud as the biggest under cover inner city shopping mall in the UK especially now it is joined to the Grand Central Shopping Center and owned by the same management. I dare say in 80 years time this Bull ring center will be superseded by a new version, nothing stays still in Birmingham's ever changing modern city center.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Very true. That was a very insightful, very informative run down of the Bull Ring /Bullring history. And lets not forget the original indoor market that sat on Manzoni Garden before the 1960's center was build. I respectfully call it 'The Grandfather of the Bullring Centre's.' I worked in both the 60's and current center's, once as a kid in the market from 94 - 98 and again in my 30's as a security guard in 2007 - 2016. I always said I've got one more BullRing left in me before my time is done. The magic 3, lol.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@The-Great-Brindian Birmingham has been rebuilding itself over the last few years to get rid of the mistakes of the 1960's/70's and 80's rubbish rebuilding, the Inner Ring road known as Queens way known as this after the Queen made a blunder opening the Great Charles Street tunnels under the City ( A38 )which she should of said " I name these road Tunnels Great Charles Street Queensway Tunnels", but instead said" I name this Ring Road Queens way" so all the Ringway around Birmingham City center had to be renamed, for example " Priory Queensway, Smallbrooke Queensway, Moor Street Queens Way and Great Charles Street Queens way which created a noose around the City Center, so over the years Birmingham City Council altered this ring road closing some of it off to cars and allowing only Buses, Birmingham New Street station has been modernized as has the Shopping Center on top which is now called the The Grand Central Shopping Mall not as before the Pallasades and the Bull ring Shopping Center has been totally rebuilt. the big tower you are on about is the Rotunda which was gutted and changed from Offices to Flats for people to live in, there are still loads of pubs and Restaurants around the City Center which has now been totally rebuilt with a tram system and people make silly comments about Birmingham thinking of the sixties and seventies but Birmingham looks nothing like that now.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@The-Great-Brindian Well, why do I need to do paragraphs, you asked what is going on in Birmingham and I have told you you the derails.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@The-Great-Brindian I am not angry mate, you asked a question and I answered it so simple

[@theoriginalbluey]

I remember that huge hole, walking over it through raised corridors! I haven't been for a number of years, and assume all the subways around Moor Street etc are now gone.

[@stephenroche5107]

Ripped out the whole character of the place with this monstrous place.

[@misterspitfire6564]

I couldn't agree more!

[@stephenroche5107]

Mister Spitfire 👍

[@rw6391]

I agree,born and bred brummie 44 years, hate town now don't go. Use to love and wonder around.

[@stephenroche5107]

Ronnie It brings a tear to my eye i remember the old traders in the markets some still there but most have gone now the very people of Birmingham are responsible for this not using the markets and then giving the council the justification to clobber this area of the city centre.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

A lot of buildings today are very sterile looking. They were suppose to be contemporary, future looking buildings to fit in to this era. Which they have done. Just like the 1960's they were great for 15 minutes. There is no individual personality of a building pre 1950. They all look the same. And when everything looks the same it loses its identity. Just like a lot of 1960's buildings did and why they quickly became a drab, eyesore like the Bull Ring became. As it always is we look back with rose tinted glasses but back then the old Bullring got a lot of criticism by the majority of the public. I loved the old Bull Ring. I had a lot of great memories working there. But I also knew it had to end and come down to move forward. It had its time.

[@jahmah519]

Does anyone recall the original Bullring before this latest one, there was a huge writing on the wall by the outside markets about Brummies, it was very inspiring & I thought they would have preserved the sentiments 🤔 but I don't think they did because I've not seen any trace of it in many visits to that outstanding beautiful City

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

I don't remember it bud. Maybe if I saw it again it would jog the memory banks but it's been so long now. I do remember there was writing on the wall in the alley way by the subway and Manzoni Gardens. Maybe it was there?

[@Xegethra]

Too bad they got rid of all the greenery though. Don't like the anti car aspect either....people do carry stuff around, public transport is useless for that. Cars often can get you closer to where you want to go too. The old Bullring was ugly, but my god so is the new one. Modern architecture from the mid 20th century onwards is just bleh. I know taste and all that but it's all so bland. At least the old Bullring had cool sky roads. the old bullring may have had no personality but the new one really has none, it's as plain and as average as you can get a shopping centre. Waste of money, they may as well have just left it alone. Birmingham has an obsession with renovating, I get it needs to happen sometimes but man slow down, let the city breath...damn

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

A lot of buildings today are very sterile looking. They were suppose to be contemporary, future looking buildings to fit in to this era. Which they have done. Just like the 1960's they were great for 15 minutes. There is no individual personality of a building pre 1950. They all look the same. And when everything looks the same it loses its identity. Just like a lot of 1960's buildings did and why they quickly became a drab, eyesore like the Bull Ring became. As it always is we look back with rose tinted glasses but back then the old Bullring got a lot of criticism by the majority of the public. I loved the old Bull Ring. I had a lot of great memories working there. But I also knew it had to end and come down to move forward. It had its time.

[@garrett69]

I avoid Birmingham centre like the plague! There used to be some beautiful Victorian buildings but now it's all an eyesore. Needless Alley was once a proper time warp that showed proper city heritage.

[@Kysersozeash]

@@garrett69, I agree.

[@yell50]

I miss the old bull ring

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

The Toreador and Matador, Jesus. Those are some old ghosts...I never drank back then but I remember going in the Toreador. It was pretty unique and the bar was designed like a market if memory serves me correctly. It was almost like a sawdust joint. Had a lot of character. Be cool if that was ever bought back in some form or fashion as a bar.

[@mayladigpal9411]

Birmingham gone down hill, no high streets anymore with decent shops, everything's in the bullring. You can't even drive into city and enjoy the sights.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Back then the main shops were on the high street. Bullring pulled them back in to the centre. There are still plenty of chains there but places like Woolworths are a dying chain. Shame because I used to love Woolworths.

[@rw6391]

Hate the bullring now, 44 years old now and would love the old one back

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

I’m two years behind you and I’ll admit I miss those days. If the old building was still in existence today it would sadly be in very, very poor shape. We had to move on. One thing I learned from not only shopping in there as a kid but worked in there as a young adult. It wasn’t the building that made the character. It was the characters that made the building. People like the market traders in the indoor and the shop owners on centre court. And sadly a lot of them are all gone now. That all started to come to an end at the turn of the millennium. It’s sad but everything must come to pass.

[@darude1420]

Used to love driving to Birmingham, it used to give you a sense of freedom! Now its utter chaos!

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Just a quick one guys. I really appreciate the comments and I respect everyone's opinion both negative and positive. This channel will always strive to give everyone a platform to have their opinion. However, It’s unfortunate that I have recently had to delete a couple of comments for vulgarity. Just to be clear, Every comment is screened before hand so whatever is posted (inappropriate or otherwise) I WILL read it and it WILL be deleted if I find it offensive. You will simply not be responded to and if you persist you will be blocked. This channel is for people to enjoy the history of one of Birmingham's most iconic buildings and share their experiences. It’s not for people to post comments using vulgar language. It will not be tolerated on this channel. Many thanks for your co operation and I hope you enjoy the channel.

[@horuslupercal2385]

thank you for sharing this video..... plenty of history and nostalgia to enjoy here 💙

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@horuslupercal2385 Thank you very much for that nice comment.

[@spicegirls5559]

I don't understand why they had to demolish the old bullring the new one has too much expensive shops. Don't get me wrong the new one is nice but I prefer the old one it was better.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

There are a lot of valid reasons why the old Bull Ring had to go. One of them being that the building was old and out dated. It was unsafe in its design. Put it this way you wouldn’t want to have walked around there at night. Another would be the fact that glass, sterile, clean European shopping malls with brand fashion designs were becoming the new rage. Bull Ring was not getting the footfall it once had and nobody was shopping there anymore. The homeless were being allowed to sit in the customer stairwells during the day, consumers were going to Martinue place and the high street to shop at fashion brands. The Mom and pop shops were dying. Hammerson did the right thing as a business model by partnering up with investors to get the ambitious BULLRING through. And Birmingham has only grown since then. Look at the town now compared to 26 years ago. We have buildings, businesses, job increases, better infrastructure in our roads, bankers, investors that have all flocked from different parts of the world to rebuild this city. I miss the old Bull Ring and a Birmingham. I loved working there. But I am under no illusion of the reality of time. It waits for no man/woman or building.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@seanburns1972 It definitely had its day. In retrospect the old Bullring had a temporary shelf life. From the mid 60’s to the 70’s it did very well in terms of tourism and trade for that time. Towards the end of the 70’s in the the 80’s it was beginning to decline rapidly in terms of look and becoming out dated. By the 1990’s it was time for a change and at this point Bull Ring was ageing and it began to look like an eye sore. By 1998/99 people were gravitating to the high street shops and big name brands. Hammerson and partners huge investment to regenerate the Bull Ring and turn it in to BULLRING was the best move they made. It revitalised the city, created jobs, bought big name brands back IN to the centre and created investment and new jobs around the area. The rebirth of the BULLRING set a chain reaction and didn’t just breath new life in to the centre. It breathed life back in to the city centre. Look how things have changed and how far we’ve come.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@seanburns1972 I always say. Respect the past. The past is the reason why we are here. But never stay in the past. Building on those old foundations, learn from history and re invent the wheel. That is definitely the case here.

[@spicegirls5559]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 do u think instead of them demolishing the old bull ring they could of just refurbished it instead. Then maybe it would have been ok. Maybe keep the same building but restore and modernise the building.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@spicegirls5559 I don’t know dude. I think they was looking for a complete overhaul and to expand the centre three times the size of the old one. To do that the old Centre had to go. In my opinion the old Bullring wouldn’t have survived the modern age even if it had a massive cash injection to be refurbed. It just wouldn’t have attracted the kind of modern shoppers it was looking for and it wouldn’t have helped kick start the huge investment that was needed to regenerate Birmingham which is exactly what happened when BULLRING was built. They was going for the European world wide market where as the old Bullring catered to local shoppers. Plus they wanted to do away with the concrete ring road and use that land to build today’s BULLRING. In short no. I think it had its time.

[@misterspitfire6564]

Birmingham never feels finished! Every time I go there, there it seems that half of it is boarded up up and under development! This has been going on for decades. Back in the 70's and 80's Birmingham had character - that is no longer true. It is lifeless and boring! I now hate my own City Centre and wish that I could take my kids back to the exciting, vibrant place that it used to be - not the concrete maze that it is now.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

A lot of new buildings going up now and there are a lot of developmental projects in Brum with a new tram rail being extended over the next couple of years. Its a very busy town these days with millions of tourists visiting every year. Sadly for a person like me who was born and bread there it is becoming more and more unrecognizable year by year and I feel like I am becoming a stranger in my own town, lol. Its a good thing for the economy though and its bringing in investment so its not all bad.

[@sajid1979]

I studied at UCE Millennium point 2001, Bull Ring was still under construction. I took a small concrete stone from the rubble, I think was part of a demolished Bridge. 😅

[@pow1983]

"it arrived on the back of a lorry" - no shit Sherlock, I was expecting them to do it Roman style on wooden rollers that people laid as it was moving...

[@user-zm9yc2kb8x]

Lmao

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Yea, He did kind of state the obvious. I thought he was making some sort of innuendo about the market or the statue being stolen because It's Brum, lol.

[@paulobrien4181]

Well the way things are these days I think were heading back to those times probably even worse

[@buffetuk]

Loved the old bull ring its a shame it had to go😢

[@emabegum3817]

I miss 1990s Birmingham every Saturday ice skating planet ice china,town

[@sloeginandsleep1170]

I can't help but see the irony of the Argos superstore, Toys R Us and car park being knocked down as part of the masshouse redevelopment plan, here we are 27 years later, they are still there with another name over the door of course, with yet another plan to demolish them. I love Birmingham, it's my adopted city, the place I worked, studied and started my family, it's interesting to see the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Eventually they will be gone and something else will be in it's place. Everything has a shelf life and evolution will run the clock down. It's doing it now as we speak. Three decades ago people said exactly the same thing about the Old Bull Ring and thought they would never replace it. We was destined to be a concrete jungle for years to come. And they was wrong. One thing I have learned being on this earth nearly 45 years is that everything comes to pass in the end. Be it buildings, cars and yes, even us. Nothing last's forever.

[@sloeginandsleep1170]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 Very true my friend, everything has a lifespan. I think in terms of redevelopment, one of my pet peeves is the promises made and broken every time. Donaldson wanted to knock down Dale End back in 89, then it was part of the deal to redevelop the Bullring with Dale End being required to be done at the same time which they managed to wriggle out of, then it was part of the original Big City plan in 2005, and on and on we go. I won't miss the Dale End NCP, only place I've ever had a car stolen. I used to work in Dale House/Century House (The office building on top of the NCP) and BCC pressured the companies out of there back in 2005, will miss Scruffy Murphy's though, plenty a pint had in there!

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@sloeginandsleep1170 There were the same false dawns with Bull Ring in the late 80's, early 90's when Hammerson wanted to team up with a London based developer and do away with shopping center's altogether in Birmingham. I sometimes wonder how that would have looked like today had the development gone through. I know the market traders held more power back then but corporations and the council did a good job at slowly dwindling that influence away and pushing the market traders to the side. That I do not agree with. Some manager I used to work under in security at the current BullRing gloated how Hammerson were looking at building a bridge over to Edgbaston Street car park from Debenhams and pushing the indoor market out to have an extension put on the car park. I took it personally and got funny with him and said 'Do you think that's funny?' People losing there jobs? But he didn't give a shite. He later lost his job for being a druggie and a drunkard.

[@sloeginandsleep1170]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 Corporations always make a point of saying they care about the everyman, but they couldn't give a f*** about us. The markets are what brought influence and money to Brum in the first place, and they still play a very big role in our city which should be nurtured and respected. I do wonder what would have happened if they had followed through with their original plans, but in many ways I'm glad their plans came to nout, too many memories wouldn't have been made otherwise. I'm glad that twonk you worked with got his just desserts, karma's a bitch eh ;)

[@TheAsianProdigyHD]

The Toys R Us and Argos weren’t knocked down. As a matter of the fact the Argos was still there until 2011. The building has been divided into several shops now. The Toys R Us stayed open until all of them went bust.

[@rjhtrucking5429]

The only development that's been worthwhile is New Street Station, now named Grand Central, for some odd reason!

[@HeavyMetalPowerBottom]

I love seeing the old design of travel west midlands buses.

[@rw6391]

I remember the flower lady,market has gone to shit they ruined it for the people who live in Birmingham, just worried about visitors from other citys

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

I got in trouble once for helping her out pigeon corn out by St Martins Church once when I was a barrow boy. Unfortunately the market will eventually get pushed out for new development soon bud. I worked there in the market as a kid in the old Bull Ring back in 94-98 then went back in 2007 as a security guard until 2016 in the current one and they always use to talk about expanding with lesuire facilities and flats. Fast forward to 2019 and the wholesale market is gone. I guarantee both the Rag market, Indoor market AND Edgbaston street car park on top of the indoor will be gone. It’s over mate.

[@funeralblvck4755]

Was working in the Dept. of Planning and Architecture in 1997 and on the original plans St. Martins was to be a new glass church

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Was they going to rip the original down or up grade it because I heard that was talked about demolishing the old church during the early planning stages? That would have been a historic travesty. It almost felt surreal at the time. Years of talking about demolishing the old Bull Ring and it never came to fruition. When they day finally came it was very strange. Sad to because I worked there as a kid between 94-98 in the indoor market. I went back there to the current Bullring in 2007 as a security guard for nearly 9 years so I have my own memories.

[@funeralblvck4755]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 the original plans the church was to come down and be replaced with the the same design but the whole building was to be glass. It did look nice the design of the Selfridges building was to glass also. At the time glass was the futuristic fashion. The redesign of St Martin's was most likely part of the pitch to get investors to by into the new development. I went to live abroad when I returned the end of '03 the Bullring was different. The New Bullring has made me release how great of a design the old one was. All that was needed was a revamp. CCTV and glass Facias. I am yet to return and wonder around the new New Street Station and Pallasades.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@funeralblvck4755 New Street is completed and it’s not called Grand Central. The palisades doesn’t exist anymore as it was all merged in to one. It’s all very sterile now. I remember working at Bullring and seeing some of the earlier designs. Some of which can be seen in videos on this channel. It was a very ambitious project at the time. Hammerson on seemed to struggle with finding investors in the early 90’s as they had plans to redevelop the site but for some reason the London based group pulled out. That was of course until plans were put in to place just a few years later for this current center. If memory serves me wasn’t it Donaldson group and a couple other companies who were the investing partners to get the building through? I heard Hammerson later bought them out or they sold there shares to Hammerson so they now have complete control of Bullring. They also nodded for Grand Central and gave it now. Only problem is they have a monopoly on the area and they had to make cuts because they were losing businesses that were going under and these are huge units that bring in a lot of footfall/revenue. So I heard anyway. I’m giving the basics. 😂

[@AIG67]

Eeeeeereeeeereereeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemeeeeeeeeeoee

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 As a Brummie I don't think they could of demolished it as it is grade 2 listed, built in 1873 to replace a church going back to medieval times and has the tombs of the De Bermingham family in it and was stone blasted clean when the new Bullring was built.

[@S_H_A_R_N_I_E]

The area near Moor Street and King's Street needs massive overhaul. The first step is doing away with the McDonalds but the car park just across the new HS2 construction site looks very tired and sore to the eyes.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Which car park is that bud? Moor Street Car Park?

[@paulspopculture5592]

I used to go to Market a lot in the 80s with me late dad to get video games I went one last time with him after the redevelopment he didn't like it said it lost its atmosphere

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

You’re Dad was right.

[@cal28kim]

I worked on this driving a 32 tone tipper doing muck away and operating an O&K 18 tone rubber duck under ground at the bottom of a tower crane not far from the carpark entrance is now. 👍! !

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

I remember those trucks coming on and off site as they was clearing the land for the new Centre to be build.

[@cal28kim]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 I also did they archaeology dig in St Martin's church with Birmingham university operating an O&k 18 tone wheeled excavator or rubber duck an there was a lot too see!!. All the spoil was sieved to remove bone fragments before being taken over the road at first and put under the railway station where they used to pull the goods though the holes above before being taken off site. The old bullring sign was in there as well!! I also worked on the carpark that side of the road as well operating a komatsu 13 tone tracked excavator. Just a side note I've all seen what I was told to be they old Birmingham custard factory gates stored away painted white with a bird in a circle if I remember right as it was some years ago now.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

@@cal28kim I’ve always wondered what they did with some of the old Bull Ring stuff like the signs etc. There was two Bull art motifs that hung in the building for years. Artist Trewin Copplestone designed the set of four, two-metre high fibreglass bulls for the side of the Bull Ring shopping centre when it was built in 1963. After the demolition they was apparently stolen and never recovered. Would have been cool to have seen them in a museum in Brum.

[@shaf811]

Thank you mate!

[@tonimoseley7885]

So proud of my family history. Percy Moseley ( bullring) was my grandfather

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Wow, That's some family history right there.

[@TheDoorsofPerception2001]

What happened to the big bold "bull ring centre" lettering from the original bullring? Can't find anything on it and it would be a shame if they scrapped them as they represent the original complex, should have been archived and stored somewhere

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

It was probably disposed of on a landfill and crushed up like the three Bull art works that were once mounted on the Centre walls since we’ve not heard of seen of them over the last 20+ years. I don't think anything was kept from the 1960's development which in itself is a shame as it was part of our history. However, The JFK art mural was retained from the old subway and placed down Digbeth by the College.

[@timvins]

Notice how the price kept rising, 300 mil then 350 followed by 400 😂😂

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Yea, they went well over budget in the end but they always do.

[@darude1420]

And what a major flop the Millennium Point was!

[@soupeymark]

It all went downhill when they took King Kong away.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

In my opinion the downfall of the Bull Ring came from the lack of long term vision from the planners and the council. They copied the same concept as America with concrete “futuristic” modern buildings that were easy and cheaper to construct with concrete and rebar. They didn’t take in to account how quickly the materials and the design would degrade over time. By the end of the 70’s Bull Ring was beginning to look tired and worn. By the 80’s it was really showing it’s age and by the 90’s is was looking terrible. Bull Ring was opened in the 1964 so it only had 14 good prime years before the decline really began as opposed to the current centre that is still trading strong in to its 20th anniversary despite surviving recessions and changing shopping trends. They thought ahead this time. Although some big names have left a couple of gaping holes in the centre such as Debenhams. We will have to see what the future holds for BullRing.

[@user-zw5uh5zi3h]

Best days of my life now it's all gone and who to 500 years not England anymore 😢

[@davem9208]

At around 6:41, when the interviewed man talks of the old Argos store, along with the office block with the car [park being a thing of the past, as of 02/24, they are both still there. The old Argos is now a b@m, although the office block is having some work done on it. However things turn out, I think it will never be as good as it was back in the day.

[@kevkonk]

Very Interesting indeed.

[@Mister_H.]

The day Birmingham lost its soul

[@TCPH]

6:45 - lmao its nearly 2024 and the old Toys R Us car park and Argos buildings are still there 😂

[@shazadali3094]

why i

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

lol.

[@tutornick]

RIP Bob Hall

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Love this comment. R.I.P Sir.

[@zappababe8577]

Why call the Rotunda "infamous"? It's a very attractive building!

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

They are building an octagon version of Rotunda now on the other side of town. They basically built it so the two are facing each other about a mile apart.

[@buffetuk]

😢😢😢

[@stephenroche5107]

Says carl chinn who lives in the poshest area of solihull now

[@brianmarshall4753]

Need more skyline building of office and flat apartments in Birmingham city centre

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

They are popping up at a vast rate around Brum now.

[@bombcaryah]

They should have left it how it was! Where is our heritage? All of our pubs are now shisha lounges or hotels,,, what about us Birmingham natives, what's left for us?

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

I guess the Rotunda is left. There are a couple old pubs left in town that are still around.

[@zaynemal5413]

Loads of locals in Birmingham they live in segregated rural parts of Birmingham.

[@misslaurap]

totally agree it used to be brilliant when i was a kid shopping in brum with my mom and dad ❤

[@r4976]

​@@misslaurapSpot on ! The new Bullring is virtually a giant greenhouse. Only for tourists and the Uber Rich😕 Not for Brummies. Should have left it as it was😡 Rich 🇬🇧

[@linkzelda5833]

@@r4976Birmingham is cesspit idk why the government bothers

[@Holy1OfIsrael.]

Was that BILL CLINTON at the malt house pub?

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

Yea. ‘Slick Willy’ popped over back in 97 I think it was for a quick pint. 😆

[@Holy1OfIsrael.]

@@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527 I didn’t see him properly it was the wave and the hair style lol

[@MePeterNicholls]

"A tory MP has denied making racist comments...." Somethings never change eh

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

No comment, lol.

[@user-mc1yd9bp5x]

Bye bye working classes hello corporate lizards

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

That’s the sad reality of so called “progression”.

[@jacksugden8190]

Let’s face it the areas been blighted for years with ugly concrete, even in 2019 no better with all its glass design nightmare, Romford and Brentwood were no better with oversized malls urban blight bulldozer the lot of it and start again.

[@bullringbirminghamnostalgi2527]

A lot of buildings today are very sterile looking. They were suppose to be contemporary, future looking buildings to fit in to this era. Which they have done. Just like the 1960's they were great for 15 minutes. There is no individual personality of a building pre 1950. They all look the same. And when everything looks the same it loses its identity. Just like a lot of 1960's buildings did and why they quickly became a drab, eyesore like the Bull Ring became. As it always is we look back with rose tinted glasses but back then the old Bullring got a lot of criticism by the majority of the public. I loved the old Bull Ring. I had a lot of great memories working there. But I also knew it had to end and come down to move forward. It had its time.

[@garrett69]

The same can be said for all major cities. Flatten the lot and start again. London especially!