Friday Photo: Council House Clock Tower

Here’s a view of Old Birmingham with New Birmingham looking over its shoulder. The clock tower of the Council House was added with the grand entrance of the Museum and Art Gallery in 1885 to the original 1879 building. It’s known to many as Big Brum, a name that combines a nod to Big Ben and celebrates its height and grandeur within the city centre. Back in 1885 it certainly would have been exceptionally tall, but in 2020 Big Brum looks upwards and across Chamberlain Square to the new 8-storey high development of Paradise Birmingham; coming up behind it is the new kid on the block, 103 Colmore Row, which will be 26 storeys high when completed.