306 - Way back in October I included a shot of Clifton Green and commented about Clifton being a village swallowed by a city, but retaining some of it's rural feel ( http://365project.org/if1/365/2012-10-18). The area around the green has a number of interesting buildings, and this shot is of one of the smaller ones that has an interesting history.
It began life as a charging station for battery powered buses which operated between here and Stockton Lane between 1915 and 1923, so was at the cutting edge of technology at the time!
When the battery buses finished, this building had a variety of uses. It was used as a police contact box, and then for many years as a bus shelter. It was then converted to public toilets, which survived for only a short while due to financial cutbacks. Their next use was as a men's barber shop called 'The Gents'. It is still a barber shop, but now called 'Cut Fellas'.
this, and the image on the link, immediately reminded me of architecture and greenery around Sutton Park in Brum, and the road name where you enter is Clifton Road - there's a thing.
@if1 Wow, I can't imagine a pair of them. Very 'state of the art' to have battery driven buses back that far. Perhaps the next use of the buildings will be to charge the batteries of the new hybrids 8-)
Thank you hazel, and I agree, it is nice to see old buildings recycled.
Thank you Stevie. the balloons do add a nice splash of colour. I hope my commentary wasn't too long - I do tend to go on a bit sometimes!
Thank you Brian - the balloons do add a nice splash of colour.
Thank you Judith - I was a bit surprised how many different uses it has had.
Thank you Bob - I've got a copy of a new local history book with lots of fascinating details about this area.
Thank you Lee, it is nice to see it still in use after almost a century.
Thank you Tony. I'll have to go for a walk and get a shot of it's twin at the opposite end of the bus route, which is now a flower shop.
Thank you Ruth - it's fascinating what histories some quite ordinary looking buildings have.
Thank you Ann - it's done well to almost reach its century.
Thank you Debra, that's quite a coincidence.
Thank you David, glad you enjoyed it. How can you guess I got a new local history book?
You never know!
Thank you Pyrrhula - I do find the history of these kinds of ordinary local buildings very interesting
Thank you Caren - it's amazing that it survived really.
Thank you Kd, it has had a varied history!