2010

NZ2564 : Bewick Court, John Dobson Street

taken 15 years ago, near to Gateshead, England

Bewick Court,  John Dobson Street
Bewick Court, John Dobson Street
Bewick Court, a 21-storey tower block was built in 1969-71 and sits on a deck above the street, part of a daring scheme to create a 'two-level toon' with access roads below traffic-free pedestrian areas above. A piazza in front of the block leads to the back of the Central Library. From there walkways lead to M.E.A. House in Ellison Place.
Tyne and Wear HER (9790): Newcastle, John Dobson Street, Bewick Court LinkExternal link

There is a detailed account of this block and surrounding area here LinkExternal link
Two level toon

A 1960s vision for Newcastle City Centre to separate traffic from pedestrians by creating a network of concrete walkways above access roads and traffic routes of the existing streets.
Geography reverses the situation somewhat at the Swan House roundabout which merges traffic coming off the Tyne Bridge with that from the Central Motorway and the City Centre. Here pedestrians are moved below the roads in subways but emerge again above the deep valley of Side under the Tyne Bridge.
The vision would have included Northumberland Street (where some new stores were built with shop windows at what is now first floor level), and further, but eventually money ran out and it was realised that too much of architectural merit would have to be sacrificed.
The development of the city in the 1960s and 1970s was marred by a corruption scandal involving a local politician, T. Dan Smith (aka 'The Mouth of the Tyne), and John Poulson, a property developer. Echoes of the scandal were revisited in the late 1990s in the BBC TV mini-series, 'Our Friends in the North' LinkExternal link
The 'streets in the sky' concept is explained in the Urban Translation Tour LinkExternal link
Plans of this and other Newcastle developments are discussed here LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Buildings > Towerblocks
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NZ2564, 1011 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 15 January, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 20 January, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 2504 6461 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:58.5286N 1:36.6203W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 2499 6470
View Direction
South-southeast (about 157 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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