IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Little Park Street, COVENTRY, CV1 2SQ

Much of the foreground is occupied by council buildings of a variety of dates. In the immediate foreground is the roof and tower of the Council House whose building commenced in 1913 and was completed after WWI. Across Earl Street are 1950s offices with a 1960s/70s office tower block. Beyond the council offices are the Crown and Magistrates' court buildings and the most recent addition completed in 2010, the white Severn-Trent office building behind the tower block. A circuit round the tower: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2917615 < anti-clockwise | clockwise > http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2917658

The open space in front of the Magistrates Court in Little Park Street. The sculpture in the foreground is 'Flywheel' by Michael Farrell (1987).

Beyond Brown's café bar is the corner of Bayley Lane and the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Jordan Well.

The court is the building on the left.

This is a mural painted on a board that forms part of the enclosure of the Assembly Festival Garden, where many of the UK City of Culture 2021 events take place (in the background can be seen the Council House and the spires of Holy Trinity church and the old cathedral). It appears to show Bodhidharma, the legendary introducer of Chan (Zen) Buddhism to China. He is the origin of the Daruma doll traditionally bought by Japanese people when beginning a large and demanding undertaking. The doll is egg-shaped and limbless, alluding to the tradition that Bodhidharma meditated and fasted so earnestly over so many years that his arms and legs withered and fell off. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG8528 https://japancraft.co.uk/blog/legend-of-the-daruma-doll/

The Assembly Festival Garden has occupied the site of a demolished section of the Civic Centre by Little Park Street during the UK City of Culture 2021 events, which have extended into 2022. Visitors to the Edinburgh Festival may find it familiar; it appears to be part of the George Square festival garden which has been sent to Coventry. The Queen of Flanders spiegeltent can be seen overlooking the box office. Coventry University proposes to build on the site once the festivities are over.

The south wing of Civic Centre 1 already demolished, the west wing facing Little Park Street partly demolished and Civic Centre 4 on the right clad in scaffolding during demolition. The tower crane in the background stands alongside a student accommodation building under construction near the ring road.

Het Spiegelpaleis Belgium - the Mirror Palace of Belgium - comes to town for the UK City of Culture events of 2021. It is seen here in the Assembly Festival Garden on the site of the demolished Civic Centre (the Magistrates' Court can be seen off to the right). Circolombia of Bogotá, a circus troupe from Colombia, are just beginning their performance inside. The Queen of Flanders is a modern, very large spiegeltent or mirror tent, built of wood and canvas and decorated inside with mirrors and stained glass. https://www.spiegeltent.be/mirrortent/queen-of-flanders Spiegeltents were developed in Belgium in the late 19th century as movable dance halls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiegeltent

Looking from the corner of Little Park Street. On the left is the entrance to the Probation Service at the rear of the Magistrates Courts. The footbridge would appear to connect with Police HQ.

The former tower block, reduced to its last few floors, seen from Little Park Street. In the background, student residential tower blocks under construction near the ring road. May 2019: Image] 2012: Image]