Arts for All - Millennium Square

Continuing with the theme of Cuthbert Brodrick, this embroidery of ice-skating in Millennium Square, by Godfrey Harland, has as its background the Mechanics Institute in its phase as Civic Theatre. The lecture room was re-modelled for this purpose in 1949.

Pevsner's Guide mentions a quote from "The Builder" at the time when the Institute was built

'The internal arrangements... appear, except in some slight particulars, all that could be desired,' while its external appearance was of 'a grand and well-designed structure' except for the upper part of the building which, 'after its inevitable blackening by smoke, would be like a huge leaden coffin and excessively ugly'.

Recently the building has undergone another change of use and is now the long awaited City Museum, opened on 13 September 2008.

The pink building to the left is called Off-Kilter and houses the equipment to regulate the sound and lighting in Millennium Square, it was created by Richard Wilson in 2000.

LS2000 - Millennium Owl

Today's image appears as a response to Leeds Daily Photo blog.

When Millennium Square was created in 1999-2000, by the Civic Architect John Thorp, two new owls were commissioned to stand on Portland stone obelisks at the entrance to the Civic Hall. Apparently the largest platform crane in the country at that time was used to take photographs of the original Art Deco owls on the top of the building.

The bronze was cast and the gilding applied in High Wycombe. There are no bronze foundries in Leeds. Were there ever?

This owl was made by Beryl Smith in goldwork. Kid was cut to shape, padded underneath and stitched by hand.

Textile and Industrial Heritage - Mathew Murray

And here's the man himself. Mathew Murray, born in Scotland in 1765.
A potted biography can be found on the Holbeck village website.

Wondering if there was a statue of Mr Murray in Leeds I found this site where Bob Speel has listed all the Victorian sculpture in the City. He includes a good deal of information on the statues in City Square. Judging by the dates of these, the worthies of Leeds were commemorating the turn of the eighteenth to nineteenth century in the Square. The equivalent of Millennium Square (formerly Mandela Gardens)?

Post Script
City Square was constructed to celebrate Leeds becoming a City.
Mandela Gardens still exists in the new Millennium Square arrangement - its the southern part with the Kenneth Armitage bronze 'Both Hands'.
Both City Square and Millennium Square were re-created by the Civic Architect John Thorp.

The embroidery was hand stitched on printed fabric by Janet Carding and took 18 hours to complete.