BELFAST BIKES DOCKING STATION 3907 – MAY 2015 GASWORKS – CROMAC STREET
Gasworks was 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 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. But by the 1960s, demand declined as new technologies began to emerge and production finally stopped altogether in 1985.
The council bought the Gasworks site 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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.