Birth of a Dynamic New City?
Writing Challenge 2023
Posted by Chris Sissons on Apr 26, 2023
Writing Challenge ยป Chris Sissons
Every Friday afternoon in the 50s, we took the bus from Hunters Bar, the stop not far from the park, into town. (This meant I never saw The Woodentops and so for many years was mystified by Spot the Dog.) The bus travelled down Ecclesall Road and then left at the roundabout onto The Moor.
I saw several building sites on this route, notably where they built Atkinsons, which still exists today, Sheffield’s last surviving department store. But you see for many years I didn’t realise the City Centre was flattened during the blitz and was rebuilt in the 50s and 60s.
By the 60s, I was all for the redevelopment of Sheffield, although still not really aware of the war. I witnessed the development of the Hyde Park and Park Hill flats – still the well-known landmarks on the hill above Sheffield Midland Station. They started a trend for concrete structures but to be fair, they cleared all the back-to-backs from the city, which made them a great success at the time.
They were accompanied by the famous Hole in the Road (gone), the eggbox town hall extension (gone) and the inexplicable structure between Arundel Gate and the Pond Street bus station (still there, presumably because no-one can work out what to do with it).
All concrete, all modern and exciting, all hideous. This is known as brutalist architecture and despite Sheffield’s status as England’s number 1 tourist destination (yes, really!), Sheffield still sports some of the most brutal buildings, you could wish to see anywhere.
I walk past the magistrate’s courts 2 or 3 times a week and wonder what possessed the architects to build something this awful.
But the prize must go to the electricity substation on the corner of Charter Row. At least that’s what I think it is. It’s windowless and so who knows what goes on in there? Best not to ask! Is it listed? Probably. I walked past it today and took this photo and hope you appreciate it! At night it’s illuminated with various coloured lights. Makes no difference – still hideous!
I think it was in the mid-seventies, there was an artist event. Several cities got a couple of works of art to try out for a few months. If the locals liked them they could keep them. Sheffielders find it hard to communicate enthusiasm and so the art was taken away and few people shrugged their shoulders.
Sheffield was offered a blue steel arch (similar to Stonehenge) and a red pile of steel herring boxes. Mystifying. As these works of art disappeared from their cities, some wag observed that Birmingham had been offered a huge fibreglass gorilla. Wouldn’t that look great on the top of the Park Hill flats?
This year's writing challenge, fueled by prompts, is about the City of Sheffield. Be surprised by what's included and even more surprised by what's left out. This is Post 3 and there are 21 altogether. Share your thoughts and your love for the City in the comments. The first Post 0 is Context: Sheffield. The last post 2 is Dayspring. The next post 4 is Wind.
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