Birmingham Dale House Development 1

Gethin Thomas
16 minutes ago
3 min read

Dale House was a development built during the mid 1970's to replace a war damaged area of Birmingham. The development featured a multi storey car park at its core with retail at street level, an office block mounted on the roof and another office tower on the side. This series of posts is a photo record of the unique structure which I took in a series of three visits in 2018. Originally scheduled for demolition in 2007, the building should already have been demolished but financial crises and Covid since then have extended its life as a car park until at least 2024, according to Google Street View. As I no longer live nearby I am actually not sure if it is now gone or not.

I have a fascination with multi storey car parks as a particular feature only seen since the invention of the car. Post war society envisaged a Brave New World brought to us by cheap motoring and easy efficient mobility, like no humans had ever known. Increasingly our cities are either outlawing or deterring cars from entering the congested urban centres. Many of these structures are already gone and many more will follow. Whenever I visit a city by car I always aim for a multi storey as the architecture and design and the way they are mapped out intrigue me. What other buildings can you drive around inside?

This first set show the exterior either whole or in part and give a sense of its relationship to the rest of the landscape. Other sets will show its style, the interior, the complex roof area, and the accompanying office buildings.

Situated at the end of the High Street and in Dale End, this was the dale or valley at the end of the High Street. This was the town limit of medieval Birmingham. It was also the site of the Beast Market, which was usually at the edge of town because of the smell and mess.

Dale End was a Holloway, an ancient sunken road on a slope about 2 metres deep, probably looking something like this. See Runaway Lane.

It was filled in in 1756. The first office of the soon to become Lloyd's Bank opened in Dale End in 1765.

The area subsequently contained housing and small businesses but was completely wiped out during World War II as one of the worst affected areas by bombing.

By the end of the 1960's Birmingham was fast becoming Motor City and places to put all of these cars was becoming a priority.

Dale House and the High Street Car Park or as it was commonly called Dale End Car Park or Albert Street Car Park, was built in phases between 1973 and 1976. Designed by Ardin and Brookes.

The 1970s concrete structure remained standing for decades, surviving planned demolition in 2007, and continued to operate even when the attached office tower, Dale House, was empty.