Queen Square 1929
This view of Queen Square shows a much quieter and less congested street scene than we are used to today. On the left is the famous J.Lyons restaurant, well known for its excellent cakes, one of their delivery vans is parked outside. The next building is the mock-Tudor Shakespeare pub which is an Atkinsons house. To its right is the popular Reynolds restaurant, and the premises of Alfred Hall and Son who were one of the town's most expensive tailors. Just visible at the top of Victoria Street is Tyler's boot market.. On the far right-hand side of Queen Square is the dome of the Hippodrome. It was built in 1898 as the Empire Palace of Varieties, and became the Hippodrome in 1921. It was badly damaged by fire in 1956, and demolished a little later. The white building to its right, and behind the Wolverhampton bus is the old premises of Phillips and Jones which was a well known furnishing store. The brick building next to it and behind the trolley bus is the old Electric Theatre which opened at the end of January 1910. Trolley buses started running here in October 1923 and Wolverhampton's trolley bus system became the largest in the world. On the corner of Exchange Street is the National Provincial Bank, which externally has changed very little. The statue of Prince Albert is still in its original position, and behind it are the public conveniences which were built in 1902 to cater for people visiting the Art and Industrial Exhibition. They are believed to be the first in the country to cater for both men and women.