You can see the exterior buildings of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from the likes of Chamberlain Square. Also on what was Edmund Street, Margaret Street (Council House Extension) and on Great Charles Street Queensway. Has been many changes since Paradise Birmingham started in about 2015. The Birmingham History Galleries opened in 2012 and that restored part of the gallery.

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The exterior buildings of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery


The exterior buildings of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery


You can see the exterior buildings of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from the likes of Chamberlain Square. Also on what was Edmund Street, Margaret Street (Council House Extension) and on Great Charles Street Queensway. Has been many changes since Paradise Birmingham started in about 2015. The Birmingham History Galleries opened in 2012 and that restored part of the gallery.


Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

For my interior galleries post click here A tour (over the years) of the galleries at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

Construction of the original Art Gallery building along with the Council House started in 1881 and was completed in 1885. The Council House extension began in 1911 and was completed in 1919. The original building was designed by Yeoville Thomason, while Ashley & Newman did the extension. The main entrance to the gallery is in Chamberlain Square, but is also an entrance on what was Edmund Street (which also leads to the Gas Hall). The back entrance on Great Charles Street Queensway used to be in use until before the Parardise Circus roadworks began. But have been closed ever since (even after the roadworks were completed). 

The Birmingham History Galleries were built on the upper floor of the extension galleries between 2011 and 2012. After the concrete bridge to the demolished Birmingham Central Library was itself demolished, the stonework at the corner above Congreve Passage was finally restored.

 

The link bridge seen from Chamberlain Square during April 2009 looking down Edmund Street towards One Snowhill.  You can walk through it from the Round Room towards the Feeney Galleries. The dates 1885 and 1911 are on the side. 1885 when the original gallery opened, and 1911 when they started to build the extension.

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The view from Chamberlain Square from the steps near Birmingham Central Library during April 2009. From this position, it was a bit hard to get the clock tower Big Brum in the same shot. Through the columns and up the steps to the main entrance of the gallery. You then head up the staircase to the Round Room.

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This is the view down what used to be part of Edmund Street (these days part of Chamberlain Square). Part of the Council House, on this side is the Water Hall (I've never been inside). Also from April 2009, but about a week after the previous photos. I had only started taking photos of Birmingham with my then compact camera.

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This view of the Big Brum clock tower from Chamberlain Square. With Christmas trees and huts from the Christmas Craft Market that used to open here next to the Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market (which was in Victoria Square). The view from November 2009. There is a pair of plaques at the corner of Chamberlain Square and Edmund Street:

Council House Clock
The Clock in this tower indicates Greenwith Mean Time on the first stroke of the hour bell. The minute hand moves forward at the completion of each half minute.

Clock Tower
Erected in 1885 as a Gift by Follett Osler F.R.S. Height from pavement 152 ft 4in, 46.43M. Pendulum is 15ft, 4.57M long and weights 4½ CWT, 228.6kg. Hour bell known as Big Brum weighs 3 tons 6 CWT, 3200kg. 159 steps to Clock face level. Cambridge Chime.

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This is the view of the Museum & Art Gallery from Great Charles Street Queensway. This view from December 2009. This was during the early evening at sunset. Above the Forward window was sculpted coat of arms. This is the Allegories of Art and Industry by William Bloye and made in 1919 of stone. I used to use this entrance until they closed it in about 2014. Roadworks for the Paradise Circus alterations meant that entrance was closed for a few years. But even when they finished the roadworks here, that entrance remained closed to the public.

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Another Great Charles Street Queensway view of the Council House extension. The galleries of the Museum & Art Gallery are mostly on the upper floors. This was in February 2010. The corner with Margaret Street. The road has been reconfigured in recent years due to the rebuilding of Paradise Circus.

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This was during March 2011 and there was scaffolding on the Council House extension. At the time was a Yell advert for Street Wiser. They were building the new Birmingham History Galleries. Which opened in October 2012.

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Another Chamberlain Square view, this from November 2012. The Christmas Craft Market huts set up once again in the square to the left of the Town Hall. Getting a photo from this view now is not possible until Paradise Birmingham finishes off the square sometime in 2020.

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These three cherry pickers were in Chamberlain Square during May 2016 for the Second Unit filming of the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The crew had a lot of vehicles and equipment in Victoria Square, including the taxi cab that was used for the chase scenes at night around the Colmore Row area. Doubling as London of course. Filming of the movie actually started in Birmingham, before going elsewhere. The film was released in cinemas in September 2017. Ready Player One also filmed in the City in 2016. Come back Hollywood, film more of your big budget movies here!

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This was the view from the no 23 National Express West Midlands Platinum bus on Broad Street during March 2018. Two Chamberlain Square hadn't been built yet so you could see the Museum & Art Gallery as well as the Chamberlain Memorial and the Town Hall. They had started to build the Westside Metro extension to Centenary Square (near where the bus was), which was completed and opened by December 2019. This view made possible by the demolition of the old Central Library in 2016 and Chamberlain House earlier in 2018.

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This view of Big Brum and the Museum & Art Gallery taken from Centenary Way during November 2018. One Chamberlain Square to the left was already cladded. Two Chamberlain Square had begun construction and was several floors up.

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In October 2019, Paradise Birmingham had reopened this route from Victoria Square into Chamberlain Square. From July to October 2019, the route was blocked off to pedestrians, and you had to walk round the back via Eden Place and Edmund Street to get to the Chamberlain Square entrance (if it was open). They were getting it open in time before the Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market returned. During the summer Eden Place was so busy, I've never seen it so busy with people walking around the back. It has now returned to the normal levels that I expect.

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Late November 2019, and after picking up my Birmingham We Are calendars, I headed towards Paradise Circus and Great Charles Street Queensway and back to Colmore Row. This is the current state of the back of Paradise Birmingham. One Chamberlain Square is now complete, and PWC moved in January 2020. The side of the Museum & Art Gallery is now restored above the still closed Congreve Passage (could be renamed back to Congreve Street when it reopens in the future). The concrete bridge to the former Central Library (1974-2013) used to be on this side. As was formerly the Paradise Circus tunnel that went towards Paradise Street. Now all gone of course, and looking much better than is used to be.

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Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

Follow me on Twitter here ellrbrown.