Victoria Square, Birmingham
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- see also Victoria Square, Adelaide, Australia
Victoria_Square,_Birmingham.jpg
Victoria Square is an important public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House. The square was named after Queen Victoria after her death in 1901 when a statue of her was erected. It was previously known as Council House Square.
It is often considered to be the centre of Birmingham, adn is the point from where local road sign distances are measured. The square is a short walk from St. Philip's Cathedral on Colmore Row and the Bull Ring and Brindleyplace developments. The square was redeveloped in August 1992, including the installation of a fountain, representing youth and eternity, called 'The River' but know affectionately as 'The Floozie in the Jacuzzi'. Around the upper pool of the fountain is a quotation from the poem 'Burnt Norton' by T.S. Eliot. Two sphinx-like creatures stand as guardians of the fountain at the lower end of the square.
Several public artworks are permanently displayed in Victoria Square including 'The Iron Man' by Anthony Gormley. The sculpture was given as a gift to the city by a local savings bank in March 1993. It was cast in Willenhall, a district of the Black Country which lies to the northwest of the city, and is representative of the skills used by local craftsmen during the Industrial Revolution.
External link
- Birmingham City Council page on Victoria Square (http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/victoriasquare)