This was a spur of the moment thing - was in THE BEST SHOP IN THE WORLD and after a big history chat with the owner, he told me about this place down the road. Had a quick solo recce and then wandered back with a friend later in the evening. Far too cold to stay long, I'll have to go back to get nicer snaps.
It's basically just an abandoned multi-storey car park in the middle of town... rather dull. And sure enough there wasn't much to see, unless you've got a thing for girders. Would be great for a band photoshoot or whatever.
However, the building has a fairly interesting past, hinted at my the nice Art Deco arches on the roof which are far too fancy for a crappy car park. It turns out this building was once the main garage for William Watson, a racing driver, motoring pioneer and one of the first big car dealers in the North West. He was an interesting fellow: a record-breaking cyclist-turned-racing-driver who won the 1908 Isle Of Man TT. He had 4 or 5 major garages across the city, including a lovely Rolls Royce showroom on Bold Street. This multi-storey building was one of the main workshops.
During the war it was used to repair/assemble Mosquito fighter-bombers and various military vehicles. Apparently the basement was a small munitions factory. Planning permission was granted for some new hotels on the site a few years ago but the project stalled, so the building is simply sitting abandoned. Years of use as a car park have basically obliterated any traces of the interesting history, of course.
But this is 28DL, so you're here for some photos, right?
Architectural landmarks like St Georges' Hall are for sissies. Real men photograph car parks.
Basement. Stairwell is in the middle. BYOB.
Thou Shalt Not Stick Thine Fingers In The Belt Sander etc etc
The basement is pretty trashed.
Not in a vandalism kind of way, more of a 'nobody has given a shit about this place for a long time' kind of way.
The building probably still has power. Don't know why I didn't try flicking some switches, really.
Curtains not even a grandmother could love.
Nice views, in a 'shabby chic' sort of way.
Ah, the old 'pretend to be a hooker' routine. Classy.
If my band ever gets round to doing a music video, we're shooting it here!
PS: A friend of mine suggested there might be some form of tunnels underneath the building, linking up with the fabled 'underground street' nearby. Sounded like nonsense, but there is indeed quite a large brick-lined space visible through a small hole under a floor panel. Probably just foundations, but easily big enough to walk around in. Feel free to go investigate, hope you like the taste of spiders.
It's basically just an abandoned multi-storey car park in the middle of town... rather dull. And sure enough there wasn't much to see, unless you've got a thing for girders. Would be great for a band photoshoot or whatever.
However, the building has a fairly interesting past, hinted at my the nice Art Deco arches on the roof which are far too fancy for a crappy car park. It turns out this building was once the main garage for William Watson, a racing driver, motoring pioneer and one of the first big car dealers in the North West. He was an interesting fellow: a record-breaking cyclist-turned-racing-driver who won the 1908 Isle Of Man TT. He had 4 or 5 major garages across the city, including a lovely Rolls Royce showroom on Bold Street. This multi-storey building was one of the main workshops.
During the war it was used to repair/assemble Mosquito fighter-bombers and various military vehicles. Apparently the basement was a small munitions factory. Planning permission was granted for some new hotels on the site a few years ago but the project stalled, so the building is simply sitting abandoned. Years of use as a car park have basically obliterated any traces of the interesting history, of course.
But this is 28DL, so you're here for some photos, right?
Architectural landmarks like St Georges' Hall are for sissies. Real men photograph car parks.
Basement. Stairwell is in the middle. BYOB.
Thou Shalt Not Stick Thine Fingers In The Belt Sander etc etc
The basement is pretty trashed.
Not in a vandalism kind of way, more of a 'nobody has given a shit about this place for a long time' kind of way.
The building probably still has power. Don't know why I didn't try flicking some switches, really.
Curtains not even a grandmother could love.
Nice views, in a 'shabby chic' sort of way.
Ah, the old 'pretend to be a hooker' routine. Classy.
If my band ever gets round to doing a music video, we're shooting it here!
PS: A friend of mine suggested there might be some form of tunnels underneath the building, linking up with the fabled 'underground street' nearby. Sounded like nonsense, but there is indeed quite a large brick-lined space visible through a small hole under a floor panel. Probably just foundations, but easily big enough to walk around in. Feel free to go investigate, hope you like the taste of spiders.
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