Building sights in Belfast
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A
Royal Victoria Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital claims to be the world's first air-conditioned building. The artwork railings date from 1906. Known locally as the RVH, it played an important role in creating the first ever portable defibrillator and, in the 1970s and '80s, developed a well-earned reputation for expertise in the treatment of gunshot wounds.
The wavy form of the railings mimics the structure of DNA - look for the little yellow Xs and Ys for X- and Y-chromosomes - and the portraits (laser-cut in sheet steel) chart the progress of a human life from birth to the age of 100.
For advice on medical and dental emergencies, call the 24hr NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
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Sinn Féin Headquarters
The red-brick Sinn Féin Headquarters has the famous mural of a smiling Bobby Sands, the hunger striker who was elected as MP for West Belfast just a few weeks before he died in 1981. The text reads, in Sands' own words, 'Our revenge will be the laughter of our children'.
A few blocks further on, on the right between Waterford St and Springfield Rd, look out for the Ruby Emerald Take-Away at 105 Falls Rd - it was on the pavement outside this shop (known as Clinton's Hot Food from 1996 to 2003) that the historic handshake between Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and US president Bill Clinton took place in November 1995.
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B
Northern Bank Building
Opposite the elegant Commercial Building is the Northern Bank Building, the oldest public building in the city. It started life as the single-storey Exchange in 1769, became the Assembly Rooms with the addition of an upper storey in 1777, and was remodelled in Italianate style in 1845 by Sir Charles Lanyon, Belfast's pre-eminent Victorian architect, to become a bank.
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C
Obel
The 29-storey Obel, Belfast's tallest building, soars above the waterfront at Donegall Quay. It's the latest stage in the ambitious Laganside Project to redevelop and regenerate the centre of Belfast. All 182 apartments in the building were sold in advance, within 48 hours of being released.
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D
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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E
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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F
Former Sinclair Store
The former Sinclair Store (1935) is a fine example of Art Deco architecture.
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