Places of Interest
As tourism in the area has increased since the 1990s, many buildings have been restored and have since become local landmarks. St Paul's Square is the only remaining Georgian square in Birmingham, whose church was attended by the new industrialists. It eventually became overrun with workshops and lost its exclusiveness as a residence towards the end of the 19th century. It has now had restorative work and many are listed building. It is one of a few open spaces remaining in the Jewellery Quarter. Two others are the Warstone Lane and the Key Hill Cemeteries. Both cemeteries are closed to burials and are listed areas. The General Cemetery at Key Hill became Grade II listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in 1996 and the Church of England Cemetery on Warstone Lane was added in 2001. However, they are in urgent need of restoration and have been placed on English Heritage's At Risk Register. Key Hill is home to the tombs of many influential people of Birmingham.
The Chamberlain Clock stands at the junction of the Vyse and Frederick Street with Warstone Lane. It was constructed in 1903 to mark Joseph Chamberlain's visit to South Africa. It was unveiled in January 1904 by Joseph Chamberlain's wife. It is now a local landmark and symbol of the Quarter. Chamberlain had been a resident on Frederick Street and had also helped jewellers through his campaign work to abolish Plate Duties - a tax affecting jewellery tradesmen of the time. The timepiece was originally powered by a clockwork winding handle. It was later adapted to electricity but fell into disrepair and lost its chime. As a result, it was fully restored in 1989.
Newhall Street was home to the Museum of Science and Industry, which incorporated the Elkington Silver Electroplating Works. The museum closed in 1997 and the majority of the buildings were demolished, with only the buildings fronting onto Newhall Street and a hall in the centre of the site being retained. The site is to be developed in a mixed-use scheme called Newhall Square and will incorporate the remaining buildings. Many exhibits of the museum itself moved to Thinktank in Millennium Point.
Another local landmark is the Big Peg, formerly called the Hockley Centre. It was completed in 1971 as an eight storey flatted factory to a design by Peter Hing & Jones. The building was refurbished into a studio offices for arts, media and creative businesses. The Big Peg Gallery hosts arts exhibitions from local artists and the 100,000-square-foot (9,290 m2) building has space for 500 people. It is owned and operated by SPACE Organisation. Located within the Big Peg is Concrete, a 3,000-square-foot (279 m2) club which was opened on 1 February 2008 with Utah Saints headlining the opening.
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