Tag: civic Quarter

November 29th – Walsall is an odd place architecturally. I love The Crossing at St. Paul’s – the former church cum shopping centre, and the wee piazza outside it where the Christmas tree sits. I don’t mind the bus station – at night, you can see what the architect was getting at. It’s all beautifully lit up… but the paving, the mixture of slate and pale grey granite composite blocks, arranged into stripes, to me at least is horrid. Further into what’s now known as ‘The Civic Quarter’ – ‘We ay pretentious, we’m not’ – there are the most horrid street lighting columns I have ever seen. I think the street furniture and paving – which clash, eye-jarringly – were purchased and some kind of urban designers fire sale. Walsall, on a civic level, does this sort of thing with alarming regularity. Weird.

October 6th – Walsall was eerily quiet. I’ve spotted lots of potential night shots around here – I’ll need them for when the nights close in and I’m coming home in the dark. This is the only bit of Walsall’s risibly named ‘Civic Quarter’ I like; the Crossing at St Paul’s – a former church transformed into a shopping and faith centre. I like the square in front and the view of The Imperial – itself a former cinema turned into a pub. I like this square – such a shame that the Leicester Street area looks like an uncoordinated architectural mess.