A gallery of photos I've taken of The Cube from early 2011 until 2015 when The Big Hoot owl sculpture trail was on. Over the years I have taken many views of The Cube from the City Centre. Either from the canals or from the nearby streets. Many different views of it to see. The only time I got the lift all the way up to the top was in the summer of 2015 to see The Big Hoot owl up there

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The Cube from 2011 to The Big Hoot 2015


The Cube from 2011 to The Big Hoot 2015


A gallery of photos I've taken of The Cube from early 2011 until 2015 when The Big Hoot owl sculpture trail was on. Over the years I have taken many views of The Cube from the City Centre. Either from the canals or from the nearby streets. Many different views of it to see. The only time I got the lift all the way up to the top was in the summer of 2015 to see The Big Hoot owl up there


I've taken many views of The Cube over the years. This is a gallery of photos I've taken between 2011 and 2015. Most of them taken in 2011 and 2012. By 2013 the Library of Birmingham had opened, so some new views. By 2015 I went into The Cube to see the pair of Big Hoot owls, which you will see further down this post.

2011

These views of The Cube were taken during January 2011.

View from Upper Gough Street, looking down Upper Marshall Street.

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The view below was from Washington Street.

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Better view from the end of Washington Street, close to Commercial Street.

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Close up from Wasington Street before going onto Commercial Street.

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The rear entrance on Commercial Street. Was a website at the time called The Cube is Coming. Promising Amazing Views.

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Looking up from Commercial Street towards the Crown.

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Commercial Street from ground level.

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Slightly further back on Commercial Street with the building to the left.

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The Cube dominating every other building on Commercial Street.

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There is also a view from the Worcester & Birmingham Canal between Granville Street and the Salvage Turn Bridge. This would have been from the Granville Street Bridge towards The Mailbox.

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2012

Now for some views taken during February 2012.

This view of The Cube was taken from Granville Street near Washington Wharf. There is an old building surviving amongst all the modern ones here.

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Views of The Cube taken from the Worcester & Birmingham Canal between Bath Row and Granville Street, February 2012.

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In front of The Cube on the canalside is The Maltings, also called Davenports House, they are student accommodation for University College Birmingham (UCB).

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You can get onto the canal from the steps at Bath Row near Bishopsgate Street. If you want to, get off the canal at the steps at Granville Street.

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In fact I did get off the canal at Granville Street. One last view of The Cube from down here.

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2013

Views of The Cube taken in May 2013.

This view below from Brindleyplace, while I was on Oozells Street. Looking down Berkley Street.

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Another view from Oozells Street looking down Berkley Street below. Concrete one one of the nightclubs on Broad Street. The Rocket Club.

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Detailed zoom in from Berkley Street towards the criss crosses patterns. A bit like TETRIS (and this was before Holiday Inn Express was built on Holliday Street).

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Corner of the Crown zoomed up from Berkley Street.

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In July 2013 there was a Mini below The Cube from the canalside. Was something about My First Mini.

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In August 2013 I saw this Diving Sculpture from Waterfront Walk near the canalside towpath of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal opposite The Cube.

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The artist was Cathy Lewis and she was commissioned to make it in 2006 by Charles Church Developments to create a large sculpture for a public site beside the new Register Office at Holliday Wharf, Birmingham. At the time a narrowboat name Eloiuse was moored up on the canal.

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Slightly further back view of Cathy Lewis's Diving Sculpture from Waterfront Walk.

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In the middle of September 2013 on a photo walk around Highgate, I spotted this view of The Cube from Angelina Street.

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In September 2013, the then new Library of Birmingham opened to the public for the first time, and while there got some views of The Cube from there. This view was from Level 2, at the time known as the Knowledge floor.

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View of The Cube from the Discovery Terrace at the Library of Birmingham which was on Level 3, known at the time as the Discovery floor.

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Another view from the Discovery Terrace, with some of circular structure of the Library of Birmingham above.

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In this December 2013 view below taken from Tyseley Station. The zoom on my then bridge camera probably went beyond into digital zoom which gets a bit pixelly. The area above the Tyseley DMU Depot. At the time I got a train from my local station, got off at Tyseley, then waited for another train on the line to Solihull.

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2014

Not so many views taken of The Cube in 2014. In October 2014 I was looking for a blue plaque on Tindal Street in Balsall Heath when I spotted this view of The Cube. The Hyatt Hotel is just about visible from here to the right.

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2015

From Centenary Square during January 2015. Winter Skate Birmingham (late Ice Skate Birmingham) was being dismantled after the end of the Christmas / Winter season. Saw this view of The Cube looking down Bridge Street. At the time the former Register Office (later House of Sport) had yet to be demolished for Arena Central. The Hyatt Hotel seen to the right. There was a JCB in Centenary Square,

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The July 2015 visit to The Cube was to see the pair of Big Hoot owls that they had in the building.

A few floors down from the ground floor was Mr Architect by the artist Sam Pierpoint and the sponsor was The Cube. On this side the design had The Cube as the hair, Library of Birmingham as the wings, The Mailbox was on the legs and Selfridges as the feet.

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The design had The Cube as the hair, Curzon Street Station at the back of the head, and the Library of Birmingham as the body and Selfridges as the feet.

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This sign on the ground floor welcomed you to The Cube. Mr Architect was reachable via the lift or escalators to Level 5. For Owl-livia, you had to take the lift up to Level 25 to the Hotel Indigo Reception area.

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After catching the lift up to Level 25 it was time to look at the next owl. Owl-livia was by the artist Charlie Langhorne and the sponsor was Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill Birmingham.

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While at the top near Hotel Indigo and Marco Pierre White, I took an opportunity to get photos of the views from the top.

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This view from the top of The Cube towards Jurys Inn and other buildings along Broad Street. It has changed a lot since then (I've not had a need to go back up to the top of The Cube since).

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I may next cover The Cube from 2016 to 2020, but might be less photos.

 

Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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