Showing 1-18 of 18 results
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Albert Memorial Clock Tower
Belfast's very own leaning tower, the Albert Memorial Clock Tower. Erected in 1867 in honour of Queen Victoria's dear departed husband, it is not so dramatically out of kilter, but does nevertheless, lean noticeably to the south - as the locals say, 'Old Albert not only has the time, he also has the inclination'. Restoration work has stabilised its foundations and left its Scrabo sandstone masonry sparkling white.
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Bank of Ireland Building
To the west of St Anne's Cathedral, at the junction of Royal Ave and North St, is the 1929 Bank of Ireland Building, a fine example of Art Deco architecture.
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City Hall
The Industrial Revolution transformed Belfast in the 19th century, and its rapid rise to muck-and-brass prosperity is manifested in the extravagance of City Hall. Built in classical Renaissance style in fine, white Portland stone, it was completed in 1906 and paid for from the profits of the gas supply company. It is equipped with facilities for the disabled. (Note that City Hall will be closed for major renovation work until summer 2009.)
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Clifton House
A 10-minute walk northwest from St Anne's Cathedral along Donegall and Clifton Sts leads to Clifton House, built in 1774 by Robert Joy (Henry Joy McCracken's uncle) as a poorhouse. The finest surviving Georgian building in Belfast, it now houses a nursing home.
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Commercial Building
South of St Anne's Cathedral at the end of Donegall St lies the elegant Georgian 1822 Commercial Building ahead, easily identified by the prominent name of the Northern Whig Printing Company, with a modern bar on the ground floor.
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Crown Liquor Saloon
There are not too many historical monuments that you can enjoy while savouring a pint of beer, but the National Trust's Crown Liquor Saloon is one. Belfast's most famous bar was refurbished by Patrick Flanagan in the late 19th century and displays Victorian decorative flamboyance at its best (your man was looking to pull in a posh clientele.
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Former Sinclair Store
The former Sinclair Store (1935) is a fine example of Art Deco architecture.
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Grand Opera House
One of Belfast's great Victorian landmarks is the Grand Opera House, across the road from the Crown Liquor Saloon. Opened in 1895, and completely refurbished in the 1970s, it suffered badly at the hands of the IRA, having sustained severe bomb damage in 1991 and 1993. It has been suggested that as the Europa Hotel next door was the home of the media during the Troubles, the IRA brought the bombs to them so they wouldn't have to leave the bar.
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Harbour Commissioner's Office
Near the ferry terminal on Donegall Quay is the 1854 Italianate Harbour Commissioner's Office. The striking marble and stained-glass interior features art and sculpture inspired by Belfast's maritime history. The captain's table built for the Titanic survives here - completed behind schedule, it never made it on board. Guided tours of the office are available during the Belfast Maritime Festival.
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Palm House
The Botanic Gardens' centrepiece is Charles Lanyon's beautiful Palm House, built in 1839 and completed in 1852, with its birdcage dome, a masterpiece in cast-iron and curvilinear glass.
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Pearl Assurance Building
The architectural partnership of Young and MacKenzie counterbalanced the ornate Scottish Provident Building in 1902 with the red sandstone Pearl Assurance Building on Donegall Sq East.
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Queen's University
If you think that Charles Lanyon's Queen's College (1849), a Tudor Revival building in red brick and honey-coloured sandstone, has something of an Oxbridge air about it, that may be because he based the design of the central tower on the 15th-century Founder's Tower at Oxford's Magdalen College.
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Robinson & Cleaver Building
On the north side of square is the 1888 Robinson & Cleaver Building, once the Royal Irish Linen Warehouse and later home to Belfast's finest department store (now occupied by Marks & Spencer). There are 50 busts adorning the façade, representing patrons of the Royal Irish Linen company - look out for Queen Victoria and the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, both former customers.
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Scottish Provident Building
On Donegall Sq West is the ornate 1897-1902 Scottish Provident Building. It's decorated with a veritable riot of fascinating statuary, including several allusions to the industries that assured Victorian Belfast's prosperity, as well as sphinxes, dolphins and lions' heads. The building was the work of the architectural partnership of Young and MacKenzie, who counterbalanced it in 1902 with the red sandstone Pearl Assurance Building on Donegall Sq East.
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St Anne's Cathedral
Built in imposing Hiberno-Romanesque style, St Anne's Cathedral was started in 1899 but did not reach its final form until 1981. As you enter you'll see the black-and-white marble floor is laid out in a maze pattern - the black route leads to a dead end, the white to the sanctuary and salvation.
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Ulster Bank Building
The most flamboyant legacy of Belfast's Victorian era is the grandiose 1860 Ulster Bank Building, now home to the Merchant Hotel, this Italianate extravaganza has a portico of soaring columns and sculpted figures depicting Britannia, Justice and Commerce, and iron railings decorated with the Red Hand of Ulster and Irish wolfhounds.
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University Square
The university quarter is an attractive district of quiet, tree-lined streets. Georgian-style University Square (1848-53), on the northern side of the campus, is one of the most beautiful terraced streets in Ireland.
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Victoria Square
The £320 million retail complex of Victoria Square, whose centrepiece is a shopping mall topped by a vast glass dome, is due to open in 2008. There's late-night shopping till on Thursdays.)
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Showing 1-18 of 18 results
