A stroll along the emerging Titanic Quarter revealed a number of gems: not least the pumphouse visitor centre and cafe which stands beside the dry dock where the Titanic was built.
Of course when the new £93m Titanic Signature project is built, it will offer a much more impressive visitor experience but fair play to the Pump House for the job it does and the harbour walk outside. There is no reason why a West Belfast facility in the Gaeltacht Quarter couldn't offer a similar visitor experience by telling the story of the peace and justice process.
Surprisingly, there are some people already living in the apartment blocks at the entrance to Titanic Quarter — though the majority of the site is still a building site and I couldn't get as close as I wanted to the new £200,000 artpiece of a standing (or sinking) Titanic. A security man on site told me he expected some of the apartment blocks to be mothballed. Certainly, anyone who buys at the asking price would be crackers. (If you look closely in this Blackberry pic, you can just make out the new sculpture.)
The other picture is of the almost-completed Public Record Office for Northern Ireland which boasts a stylish Richard Serra-style burnished iron roof (anyone who knows the Periodic Table better than me can let me know what the material is). Expect the new £29m PRONI office to open next year and bring an influx of visitors to a part of town which is still largely bereft of people.
2 comments:
Titanic Town looks a lot like a ghost town...from your pictures.
But then again there's no shortage of money or political clout to get such developments into East Belfast - you have to wonder whether or not there's any political clout in west Belfast or why the delay in getting the Gaeltacht Quarter off the ground.
Still no website, however, for the Gaeltacht Quarter. That is nothing short of mind boggling....
Concubhar,
People in west Belfast like to sit on their arses and expect everyone else to do everything for them. It is called their national pasttime. Do not expect any of them to show any initiative.
It would also upset the political apple cart. And the gods would get very angry and terrible things would happen!!
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