John Street - Callaghan Square

The advertisement boards were being taken down today and cleared off site. A sign that construction is imminent?

The advertisement boards were being taken down today and cleared off site. A sign that construction is imminent?

yep! - it's looking that way! It will be nice to see this site occupied - it's been years!!

What was planned for this before the current development? I've lived here for a good 12 years and I don't remember anything being on that plot.

Nice to see those horrid billboards going. I saw on the jr smart website that phase one is all go.

https://jrsmart.com/current-projects/9/john-street

Just look at the difference in quality compared to the horrid Zenith building. Can't wait for it to be partly hidden.

Does anyone remember what those big white pillars were originaly for? I'm at a loss.

So I've just jogged my memory and now I remember the big warehouse that used to be there, but that doesn't help with the aforementioned white pillars! Quite an extreme bit of boundary fencing if that's all they were.

The white pillars were constructed to support billboards proclaiming that "Bute Square" was soon to be developed. I think that they went up around 1998/99 at the same time that the light pillar sculptures (now in front of the Radisson hotel) which were originally supposed to herald the entrance to the square and (I think) were supposed to continue down "Bute Avenue" to the Bay.

Thanks for jogging my memory! Now you've said that, I can remember the scene as you describe it. I have a vague memory that the 'light pillars' were either modelled on or left over from the Barcelona Olympics.

That's right. The original masterplan for the square and avenue was drawn up by the architect David Mackay who worked with great success in Barcelona. The installation of the light columns was the first (and sadly only) step taken towards fulfilling his vision. In it's place we have the PFI mediocrity of Callaghan Square and LGA - bland suburban beigeness in place of a bold civic statement. A huge missed opportunity to reunite the city centre and bay and a mistake that will take decades to unpick.