#iphone 13 mini — Page 15 of 20

Beales department store, Bournemouth, 2024

A large, curved, multi-story brick building with many horizontal windows stands on a busy city street. The sign reads “Beales.” People walk and sit in the foreground. The sun creates a bright halo behind the building under a partly cloudy sky.

The massive, looming presence of the Beales building, a former department store in Bournemouth.

Having gone bust in 2020, the Twentieth Century Society writes:

A planning application to convert most of the building to residential use was refused in 2016 because of a wish to retain retail floor space in the town’s primary shopping area against a backdrop of a sizable public campaign to retain Beales as a store – “I back BEALES.”

Look at how well that worked out! In July 2024, the building has been granted planning permission to convert it into housing with gym and pool, as well as three ground floor retail units. These will surely be of similar architectural value as those in Bristol & West House.

Bristol & West House, Bournemouth, 2024

A curved corner brick building with many windows under a bright sun, casting shadows. Several cars are parked along the street, and a few people walk on the sidewalk, including a person pushing a stroller. The sky is mostly clear with a few clouds.

A four-story building features brown brick walls and large, rectangular windows with green vertical panels between some windows. A white awning extends above the entrance, labeled Bristol & West House, under a clear blue sky.

A tall, art deco building with Bristol & West House on the top, features curved brickwork, tall windows, and a Be At One cocktail bar on the ground floor. People walk nearby under a clear blue sky, with leafy trees framing the right side.

Walking away from the Bournemouth Echo building, we were distracted by Bristol & West House, a 1958 art deco building. Originally it must’ve been offices + retail, with the upper floors being converted to become the plainest apartments imaginable in 2015. Externally it’s a very fine building, however.

Brighthelm Centre, Brighton, 2024

A four-story, weathered brown concrete building with vertical stains stands on a rainy street. The ground floor has a colorful storefront named Astoria with a blue fence beside it. Several cars are parked along the wet road in front of the building.

I’ve risked my last train home out of rainy Brighton to stop and take a picture of this beauty. This is the Brighthelm Centre. I love the textured concrete at the front of the building, and while the brick behind doesn’t do much for me, it certainly makes a great first impression. The cross recessed into the textured concrete is a particularly nice touch.