The Gasworks distinctive funnel and clock tower mark the place where the city’s gas-making industry began production in the 19th century. The area offers a quiet place to escape from the bustle of the nearby city centre and makes an ideal starting point for a pleasant walk or cycle along the River Lagan towards Donegall Quay or upstream towards the Lagan Towpath and Lagan Valley Regional Park.
Gasworks has been the site of Belfast’s gas-making industry since the 19th century. The site, built on ground owned by the Marquis of Donegall, opened in 1822 and supplied gas for street lighting and domestic and industrial use.
Belfast Corporation (now the Belfast City Council) used their profits from the gas industry to pay for the construction of Belfast City Hall, which opened in 1906.
By the end of World War II in 1945, around 120,000 people were using gas from the Gasworks site. However, by the 1960s, demand declined as new technologies began to emerge and production finally stopped altogether in 1985.
The Gasworks site was purchased by the council, together with central government and the Laganside Corporation, in the early 1990s. The land was considered unsuitable for most uses, due to contamination, but a major refurbishment programme, part-funded by the European Union, soon turned the area into a modern business park.
VICTORIA SQUARE SHOPPING CENTRE IN BELFAST PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2015
Victoria Square is a shopping and leisure complex located in Belfast. The area includes over 70 international and local brands, restaurants and the Odeon cinema. The centre also features a dome.
It opened on 6 March 2008. Its anchor tenant at nearly 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) is the largest House of Fraser that the retailer has opened in the UK.
A key element in the development is two covered, multi-level streets linked to the massive glass dome measuring 37 m in diameter and 45 m in height. A public square covered entirely by the glass dome serves as the hub of the entire area.
The ornate Jaffe Fountain, constructed in the 1870s by former Lord Mayor Otto Jaffe in memory of his father, has been restored to its original location in Victoria Square.
Victoria Square is a complex consisting of 17 different buildings. Pedestrian links to nearby business, nightlife and shopping streets on Laganside, Donegall Place, Royal Avenue and Ann Street.
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