Description
The original (and glorious) Mechanics Institute building was located opposite Bradford City Hall, precisely where the BLF Festival Hub will be located. So it’s fitting this talk should be all about the original Victorian building.
The Institute itself was established in 1832 and 39 years later, the new Mechanics Institute building was opened on Bridge Street. It boasted shops, a newsroom, library, teaching rooms, a 1,500-seat lecture theatre – where Bradford Festival Choral Society rehearsed for decades – and an upper-floor restaurant. It became a Bradford landmark for 100 years before being demolished in the 1970s, amid much protest, with the Mechanics’ Institute moving to Kirkgate which is still its home today.
In this illustrated talk, hosted by Institute President Tricia Restorick, you will learn all about the building and its fascinating history.
About the Speaker
Tricia Restorick
When she was appointed in 2013, Tricia Restorick became the first woman President in the nearly 200-year history of the Bradford Mechanics Institute. Her first contact with the Institute came through her research into a family member who had served in the Bradford Pals. The WW1 Group, founded for members of the Mechanics over 40 years ago, proved helpful and drew her in to publication of Bradford in the Great War in 2006.
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