Style And Charm

I must have taken this photograph in the mid 1970s: it shows Commercial Street in Halifax, looking towards Wards End and the, then, new headquarters of the Halifax Building Society. There is a sharp contrast in architectural styles: on one side of Commercial Street are the late Victorian facades of shops and commercial premises, whilst facing them is the unmistakeable 1930s cinema style of the Regal/ABC picture house. At the end of the street stands the newly built bank headquarters, like some strutting monster from a science fiction film. The contrast is a welcome one: the town isn’t a Victorian theme park, styles and shapes cohabit in harmony – that’s the real charm of Halifax.