Visiting Belfast in March was not my best idea ever because the amount of sunlight was way too limited
Every time I am in Belfast I visit the Zen Restaurant on Adelaide Street.
When I last visited in March 2022 A scheme to revitalise Adelaide Street to make Belfast a more “accessible and liveable” city had been substantially completed. The pilot project was funded by Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon’s Blue/Green Infrastructure Fund and was delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council.
The changes to the street involve seating and planting distributed along almost the full length of the west side of Adelaide Street. Lantern structures at a height of 6.8 metres were located outside Margarita Plaza, Zen restaurant and the Linen Loft and street furniture was placed on the newly extended part of the pavement.
The Linen Loft, a six-storey, red brick warehouse was formally known as the Ireland Brothers Building and was constructed in 1905. The building has been completely refurbished and redeveloped into the Linen Loft.
Blackrock, some hundreds of years ago, was variously called Newtown-at-the Black Rock, Newtown on the Strand by the Black Rock, Newtown Castle Byrne, or simply Newtown, so that “Blackrock” is simply an abbreviation of one of its ancient titles. For example, the town was called Newtown in a 1488 Act of Parliament. The name still survives in Newtown Avenue, and Newtown House. It was thus distinguished from Newtown-in-the-Deer-Park, as the village of Newtown Park was then called, from the circumstance that it was built in the Deer Park belonging to Stillorgan House, or Castle (a quo Newtownpark Avenue).
Blackrock is named after the local geological rock formation to be found in the area of Blackrock Park. Most of it is now buried under the park, but it is said that it is possible to see it just north of the pond. The rock itself is a limestone calp that when wet appears black, thus giving the name Black Rock. For the construction of the railway in 1834, the rock was extensively used for the wall cappings between Williamstown and Blackrock and can also be seen in the walls of the train station at Blackrock. St. Marys Chapel of Ease on St. Mary’s Place, nicknamed the Black Church, is constructed using the same Black Rock (limestone calp), although the rock used in its construction is locally sourced to the church.
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