Open Heritage: Rediscovering Donegall Place
Explore the architectural heritage of one of Belfast's most iconic streets.
As part of Open Heritage 2020, Ulster Architectural Heritage and Belfast City Council take you on a tour to rediscover Donegall Place. Part of European Heritage Open Days.
ENDS
Back where we started, we can best appreciate Belfast’s City Hall - home to Belfast City Council - which opened in 1906 and today dominates Donegall Place. It was built as a symbol of Belfast’s new city status, granted in 1888, and is testament to the confidence of Belfast at the turn of the twentieth century.
In fact, all of the buildings on the Rediscovering Donegall Place tour help to tell the story of Belfast’s evolution and illustrate the unique history of our city.
What is next in the story of Belfast? What will the future buildings – and their uses – say about our city in the 21st century? More specifically, what is the future of Donegall Place? What worked well in the past and what do you think would work well in its future? Perhaps the full, sustainable use of retail buildings, for example: locating salesrooms below and workshops above? Or perhaps reimagining the street as more than just a commercial space, but with potential for a variety of functions?
Get involved! Provide your comments, memories, keep up to date. Sign up by completing the Open Heritage form. Go to: www.ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk/openheritage
Supported by Belfast City Council and assistance from the Department for Communities Public Record Office Northern Ireland.
Want to learn more? See our references below:
- Brown, S. (1985) “Central Belfast's Security Segment: An Urban Phenomenon.” Area, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 1-9 www.jstor.org/stable/20002110
- Crawford, W. H. (1986) Industries of the North: One Hundred Years Ago - Industrial and Commercial Life in the North of Ireland, 1888-91. Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press
- Department for Communities. (2020) Buildings Database www.communities-ni.gov.uk/services/buildings-database
- Future Belfast. (2020) Future Belfast www.futurebelfast.com
- Harron, P. (2016) Architects of Ulster: Young and Mackenzie. A Transformational Provincial Practice 1850-1960. Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
- Irish Architectural Archive. (2020) Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 – 1940 www.dia.ie
- O’Regan, R. (2008) “Exploring Belfast’s Streets” Old Belfast, Vol 1, pp. 26-35 https://issuu.com/glenravel/docs/1-old_belfast__no1_/30
- Patton, M. (2015) Central Belfast. A Historical Gazeteer. Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.
Ulster Architectural Heritage
Old Museum Building
7 College Square North
Belfast
BT1 6AR
E: info@uahs.org,uk
T: 02890 550 213
W: www.ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk
