I walk past this building all the time and it needs fixed up and used. The instillation in the old phone box is nice but we should expand it into the bank. As well as being a legend and a great singer, Smitty is dead right here
Historical events that took place in this building:
-1786: an Ulster-based slave trading company was rejected.
-1792: hosted the Belfast Harp Festival
-1798: United Irishmen like Henry Joy McCracken were court-martialled and sentenced to death in the Assembly Rooms.
In 1969 the Assembly Rooms were named the “Best Kept Large Building in the city of Belfast”.
In 2000, the site was vacated.
As of 2016, the Belfast Assembly Rooms have been owned by Castlebrooke Investments, a London-based company.
It is currently rotting away on the Northern Ireland Buildings at Risk Register and the watchlist of the World Monuments Fund.
With so many soulless cuboid buildings going up, we really need to look after the nice ones.
I think we need to put more effort into our new buildings too, but that’s for another day.
I wouldn’t be in favour of public acquisition of this building. We’d spend too much buying it, too much renovating it and the results would add little value.
Surely, given its historic significance and listed building status, some pressure could be applied on the current owners to use it or face penalties.
If you consider Custom House building (architect Charles Lanyon worked on both this and assembly rooms) you’ll see an excellent example of how a recently public owned building can be transformed and become an asset to the city with the right private owners.
It’s quite refreshing to see a local councillor proposing something tangible rather than the usual themmuns/usuns bullshit.
It’s a shame to see the current state of the facility. With some improvements, it could serve as an excellent central visitor center for tourists. This center could be a hub where visitors can arrange and book attractions throughout the city. Additionally, implementing a system where buses collect tourists from this central location would enhance convenience and accessibility. This would not only streamline the tourist experience but also promote local attractions more effectively.
He’s not wrong.
The building is probably amongst one of a small number of nice period buildings that weren’t blown to pieces or rendered structurally unsound by … Events that transpired over a certain period in recent local contemporary history or hasn’t yet fallen victim to (alleged) mischief (allegedly) carried out by hired miscreants to bypass planning restrictions + clear the way for redevelopment.
It used to have one of those old red telephone boxes around the outside periphery on the north street end.. it looked like a beautiful old building even with visible revenges of decay and dereliction starting to bed in..
Such a pity it hasn’t been shown some care and seemingly left to fall into ruin since the former occupant (northern bank or Ulster bank?) vacated the building decades ago..
ask the masons
Your man looks like a combination of the Undertaker and Leigh Francis
Similar situation with Hilden Mill. Developer has sat on it for too long whilst it got burned out and is now not in great condition.
Brian is right Belfast CC need to step up and take back control of our heritage from the London “development” parasites.
13 comments
I walk past this building all the time and it needs fixed up and used. The instillation in the old phone box is nice but we should expand it into the bank. As well as being a legend and a great singer, Smitty is dead right here
[Built in 1769](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_Rooms,_Belfast)
Historical events that took place in this building:
-1786: an Ulster-based slave trading company was rejected.
-1792: hosted the Belfast Harp Festival
-1798: United Irishmen like Henry Joy McCracken were court-martialled and sentenced to death in the Assembly Rooms.
In 1969 the Assembly Rooms were named the “Best Kept Large Building in the city of Belfast”.
In 2000, the site was vacated.
As of 2016, the Belfast Assembly Rooms have been owned by Castlebrooke Investments, a London-based company.
It is currently rotting away on the Northern Ireland Buildings at Risk Register and the watchlist of the World Monuments Fund.
With so many soulless cuboid buildings going up, we really need to look after the nice ones.
I think we need to put more effort into our new buildings too, but that’s for another day.
I wouldn’t be in favour of public acquisition of this building. We’d spend too much buying it, too much renovating it and the results would add little value.
Surely, given its historic significance and listed building status, some pressure could be applied on the current owners to use it or face penalties.
If you consider Custom House building (architect Charles Lanyon worked on both this and assembly rooms) you’ll see an excellent example of how a recently public owned building can be transformed and become an asset to the city with the right private owners.
It’s quite refreshing to see a local councillor proposing something tangible rather than the usual themmuns/usuns bullshit.
It’s a shame to see the current state of the facility. With some improvements, it could serve as an excellent central visitor center for tourists. This center could be a hub where visitors can arrange and book attractions throughout the city. Additionally, implementing a system where buses collect tourists from this central location would enhance convenience and accessibility. This would not only streamline the tourist experience but also promote local attractions more effectively.
He’s not wrong.
The building is probably amongst one of a small number of nice period buildings that weren’t blown to pieces or rendered structurally unsound by … Events that transpired over a certain period in recent local contemporary history or hasn’t yet fallen victim to (alleged) mischief (allegedly) carried out by hired miscreants to bypass planning restrictions + clear the way for redevelopment.
It used to have one of those old red telephone boxes around the outside periphery on the north street end.. it looked like a beautiful old building even with visible revenges of decay and dereliction starting to bed in..
Such a pity it hasn’t been shown some care and seemingly left to fall into ruin since the former occupant (northern bank or Ulster bank?) vacated the building decades ago..
ask the masons
Your man looks like a combination of the Undertaker and Leigh Francis
Similar situation with Hilden Mill. Developer has sat on it for too long whilst it got burned out and is now not in great condition.
Brian is right Belfast CC need to step up and take back control of our heritage from the London “development” parasites.
Ohhhh another
Look at it NAAAOOOOOEEWWWW
Stap it nah
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