Liquid Nightclub Demolition Continues Apace

http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/oxford-tiffanys-studio-ritzy-ikon.html
http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/the-oxford-tiffanys-studio-ritzy-ikon.html.
http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/end-of-era-for-newcastle-city-night-spot.html

Oxford, Tiffanys, Studio, Ritzy, Ikon, Liquid etc Demolition started

They've started to rip the corrugated iron roof off to reveal . . . another corrogated roof.  The demolition of the former nightclub on New Bridge Street has begin in earnest.  

http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/the-oxford-tiffanys-studio-ritzy-ikon.html.
http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/end-of-era-for-newcastle-city-night-spot.html

On Saturday, the wall at the northern end of the building was breached, with the demolition proceeding from north to south towards the entrance portico and John Dobson House.

Of course, they won't be knocking down the front entrance and the listed John Dobson House next door.

Plans to demolish Liquid/Envy/Ritzy/Ikon/Studio/Tiffanys/Oxford

Last year, plans were submitted for the demolition of the Liquid / Envy nightclub on New Bridge Street, (but preserving the listed John Dobson House and portico) and replacing it with student flats, as I described here in more detail: http://novumcastellum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/end-of-era-for-newcastle-city-night-spot.html.

I thought that work had commenced on this project last month, as there was a lot of activity around the area with construction workers eyeing up the entire structure with theodolites.  There also appeared to be some drilling going on.  But now its all gone quiet again.  It was obviously an in depth structural survey prior to new plans for the site being submitted to the council at the back end of June.

The plans appear to be very similar to the ones last year (although there are no artist impressions like those which accompanied the previous planning application).  There are fewer flats to be built, but they are to be housed in taller blocks than those shown above.

End of an era for Newcastle city night spot

Possibly. 

You can guess someone's age or generation at least by the name they use to refer to the night club on New Bridge Street, the one currently known as Liquid (or it it just LQ nowadays?) Me, I only went there when it was the Studio, Ritzy and then Ikon, but I'm from the younger end of the Tiffany's generation. For my parents generation, it was, of course, the Oxford, or The Oxford Galleries - named after a street which ran alongside, roughly parallel to the central motorway, called Oxford Street.   But the long-standing Newcastle nightspot is set to become history under redevelopment plans that have been submitted to the council.

There are plans afoot to demolish much of the club, leaving the listed entrance building and portico, intact. In its place, the developers plan to build student accommodation - a modern development in three blocks of increasing height, stepping up away from the rear of the Grade II listed John Dobson House (which currently houses the club entrance, cloakroom and "back-office" space).

Many will have happy memories of this place, the Oxford holds a special place in the hearts of many of my parents generation; the same is true for subsequent generations who have enjoyed nights at the various incarnations of nightclubs that followed.  But over the past twenty years, the reputation of night clubs here has deteriorated. Unfortunately, violent incidents, glassings and murders even will be the overriding memories of some.

While it is sad to see the end of the club, it's a great opportunity to restore the John Dobson house to its former glory. The plans include stripping back the white paint to reveal its original stone facade. The restored building will house a cafe / restaurant with outside seating on the Blue Carpet. 

I'm not quite so sure about the designs for the student accommodation blocks though - it's seems to be a design which is very much of this time (based on similar modernist design concepts popular in the 1960s) - and very similar to other buildings that are going up across the city.  I do like modern and modernist architecture, but I can't help thinking that another T Dan Smith-esque silhouette is looming across the city again, just when many of the monstrosities from the 60s and 70s have been demolished.