This roughly cut rock block caught my eye on February 28 2017 when I was by the West Yorkshire Playhouse (WYP), Leeds. I assume the block is meant to represent something so I would be grateful if anyone could please let me know. It had water under it and was very litter strewn so rather an eyesore feature (I did not photograph the worst littered bit).
The first photo is a close-up of the rock block and the second shows its location with the WYP just off on the right and the NHS Quarry House in the rear.
RockBlockWestYorksPlayhouseLeedsFeb282017..jpg (127.21 KiB) Viewed 2730 times
RockBlockNHSQuarryHouseRearWestYorksPlayhouseOffOnRightFeb282017..jpg (103.97 KiB) Viewed 2730 times
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.
With the Kremlin in the background, it might be the Soviet Bloc (Sorry )
If it's actually Leeds rock, it should say that all the way through (Even sorrier still. )
Somebody must have had a reason for putting it there and on its own like that it doesn't look like something to keep squatters' vehicles off. I'll bet that in better weather it's the centrepiece of a fountain.
It used to be a fountain, mentioned in this extract from YEP 7th July 2012 'In the 1980s the Land Lane fountain, removed in the 1990s, frequently failed and more recently water features in City Square, Mandela Gardens at the bottom of Millennium Square and outside West Yorkshire Playhouse have all had their share of problems'. It could be a piece of the old Quarry Hill flats which was on that site but to me it looks like artificial stone.
I suppose Quarry Hill would be as likely a place as any to get a big chunk of stone.
I remember one of the problems with the Lands Lane fountain being jokers putting detergent in. It really is a pity that these features are installed without much thought to the need for long-term maintenance. Not really a Leodis issue, but I worked for several years (1987 - 1991) at The Tyrls in the centre of Bradford. The police station there has now been demolished but the courts remain. There used to be a rather attractive water feature which had a sheet of water flowing across a flat area and then forming a waterfall. It was rarely, if ever cleared out so there was an accumulation of litter some thrown in by passers-by some blown in by the wind. Things came to a head during the big drought when Yorkshire water were bring the stuff in tankers from Northumberland. Public fountains had to be turned off. I think this can only have been for appearances sake because the water in that type of fountain recirculates. Anyway, all that remained was a big hole full of unsightly rubbish.
There's now an even bigger water feature in the middle of Bradford in Centenary Square so I hope some lessons in the need for long-term maintenance have been learned.
Yes, water features seem not to last that long in Leeds. That in the Victoria Quarter is one that has lasted but it is of course in a commercially run concern and is well maintained.
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.
Yes, water features seem not to last that long in Leeds. That in the Victoria Quarter is one that has lasted but it is of course in a commercially run concern and is well maintained.
When walking in the main Victoria Quarter arcade (not the County Arcade) on March 9 2017 I noticed that the single impressive water feature was not there and instead there were 2 quite small water features. It does not seem that long since I was in that arcade so I assume the alterations were recent, unless not and I have just been very unobservant and it was done some while back!
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.
It was just part of the original water features when Quarry House opened and was a fountain. You can see other defunct parts of the system as you approach the entrance it was supposed to be the grand entrance to Quarry House when designed but has fallen into disrepair as cutbacks took effect .
Steve JonesI don't know everything, I just like to give that impression!
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