Newcastle Exhibition: 'Concrete Dreams'

A few days ago I finally found time to visit the 'Concrete Dreams' exhibition at the Farrell Centre, Newcastle. This institution can be found in the Claremont Buildings that stands directly opposite the Council Chamber of the city's Civic Centre. Here it is:

(click on image to enlarge)

The main entrance can be found on Eldon Place, down the left-hand side of the building, thus:

There's a disabled entrance, too, on the other side of the block. Anyway, here's the lowdown on what the exhibition is all about, in its own words:

Among the many, many displays, models and info panels on display is this extraordinary concept ... the Tyne Deck:

The original design for the Trinity Square Shopping Centre & Car Park, Gateshead:

Other subjects covered include an early Metro train model:

And there's plenty on the suburbs, too. Jesmond Library, for instance:

Also, there's plenty of info panels and videos playing all over the place!:

The Civic Centre, of course:

And that legendary sprawling model of the city centre itself, first built in 1963 and updated until 2010:

More from the suburbs:

What I have covered represents a mere fraction of what is on display. In all, definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY worth a visit for all Novocastrians! It is completely free, and runs through until 1st June 2025. All of the exhibits are on the upper floors (lift available), and on the ground floor can be found a little seated area with 40mins-worth of archive video footage from the 1970s playing on a loop (Amber Films - you've probably heard of them). Look out, too, for the helpful info sheets that will guide you through the films and the exhibits - and if you watch the three films on the ground floor you'll need maybe 2 hours to take everything in. 

Oh, and here's the Farrell Centre's website.