Then and Now
Birmingham has an ever-changing skyline, so, for comparison I have attempted to recreate scenes from older images from the same viewpoint - or as close as I could get to it. In some photos, things like trees, recently built walls, new road layouts, and road signs have obstructed the 'shot', in others it may have meant that to obtain a more precise comparison I would have had to stand in the middle of a busy road - sorry, but I have no intention of doing that. In some photos the view has changed very little, in others, it has changed so much that it is almost unrecognisable.
Boundary changes over the years have blurred the lines between districts, over time, one district may have become part of another one, local council, and parliamentary boundaries dictate these area changes.
To avoid confusion on the area names, I have grouped these composites by postcode area, although, by doing that, it also has some ‘oddities’, for example, a building that has a different postcode to the one that is next door to it, or different postcodes on opposite sides of the street.
At the bottom of each page there are buttons to click/tap to take you to a specific postcode, or just use the 'Next' button to move to the next page.
For Copyright information regarding this collection please Click/Tap Here 
There are 132 Images in this collection.
Colmore Row - Birmingham City Council House on the left, Victoria Square is to the right, and the Town Hall is behind me.
Upper Image: Author - John Ball, Copyright - John Ball.
Upper Image Date: 1963.
Lower Image Date: 09/05/2018.
Hill Street from its junction with Paradise Street .
Upper Image: Author - John Ball, Copyright - John Ball.
Upper Image Date: 1963.
Lower Image Date: 05/02/2020.
The older image shows Holloway Circus with The Albany Hotel on the left, The Scala Cinema on the right, and The Rotunda in the middle. The more recent image shows part of Beetham Tower (Radison Blue Hotel), The Albany Hotel is now a Holiday Inn, The Scala Cinema which later became the ODEON is now disused (although there are plans to redevelop the building), and the Rotunda is obscured by Centre City office block.
Upper Image: Author - Phyllis Nicklin, Copyright - MLA West Midlands and the University of Birmingham.
Upper Image Date: 06/01/1966.
Lower Image Date: 15/11/2018.
Looking down Holloway Head towards Holloway Circus, the 31 storey residential tower block in the more recent image is Clydesdale Tower.
Upper Image: Author - Phyllis Nicklin, Copyright - MLA West Midlands and the University of Birmingham.
Upper Image Date: 29/06/1968.
Lower Image Date: 15/11/2018.
The Brasshouse - Built in 1781, this building is the only remaining part of a brass foundry that was built to manufacture brass in Birmingham, this was to halt the need to transport raw brass from elsewhere. It is now a bar and restaurant, one of many along Broad Street. The uppper image shows what was a brewery in the background, that was demolished (along with other buildings) to make way for Symphony Hall (lower picture).
Upper Image: Author, and Copyright status not known.
Upper Image Date: Not known - possibly mid 1980's.
Lower Image Date: 09/05/2018.