In fact much of Leicester's history is still there to be seen, although sometimes you have to lift your eyes from the pavement. Indeed it's the combination of past and present that I enjoy most when wandering about. The juxtaposition of Curve with Victorian buildings nearby (not to mention the contrast between it and the (former) Odeon (now Athena) is just one example. In this photo we see a smaller but just as satisfying one. The building that now stands at the entrance to Highcross (and now contains a Laura Ashley store) was once "Crowe's" -"The People's Drapers". You can see a postcard of it here. Quite an interesting building with an entirely superfluous but nevertheless striking tower on top and some lovely windows. Almost the whole building is still there (despite it not being listed), standing next to another building from Leicester's past - the Eastgates Coffee House.
Thursday 12 August 2010
"Crowe's" - still the "CENTRE for SHOPPING", Leicester
Reading letters and comments in the Leicester Mercury - or indeed reading the whole of the Leicester Chronicle - you might think that not only is Leicester covered in hideous modern buildings and concrete but that all traces of the past had been eradicated by the forces of modernity.
In fact much of Leicester's history is still there to be seen, although sometimes you have to lift your eyes from the pavement. Indeed it's the combination of past and present that I enjoy most when wandering about. The juxtaposition of Curve with Victorian buildings nearby (not to mention the contrast between it and the (former) Odeon (now Athena) is just one example. In this photo we see a smaller but just as satisfying one. The building that now stands at the entrance to Highcross (and now contains a Laura Ashley store) was once "Crowe's" -"The People's Drapers". You can see a postcard of it here. Quite an interesting building with an entirely superfluous but nevertheless striking tower on top and some lovely windows. Almost the whole building is still there (despite it not being listed), standing next to another building from Leicester's past - the Eastgates Coffee House.
In fact much of Leicester's history is still there to be seen, although sometimes you have to lift your eyes from the pavement. Indeed it's the combination of past and present that I enjoy most when wandering about. The juxtaposition of Curve with Victorian buildings nearby (not to mention the contrast between it and the (former) Odeon (now Athena) is just one example. In this photo we see a smaller but just as satisfying one. The building that now stands at the entrance to Highcross (and now contains a Laura Ashley store) was once "Crowe's" -"The People's Drapers". You can see a postcard of it here. Quite an interesting building with an entirely superfluous but nevertheless striking tower on top and some lovely windows. Almost the whole building is still there (despite it not being listed), standing next to another building from Leicester's past - the Eastgates Coffee House.
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