Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Birmingham Council House

Designed by local architect Yeoville Thomason in an Edwardian Renaissance style, this building from 1874-79 houses the city council.


The facade contains a central balcony with a niche under the portico that contains a mosaic tympanum by Salviati featuring Municipality giving "Stability" to Liberty and "Power" to Law, while Science, Art, Commerce and Industry look on. The name of the mosaic is not "Brittania Rewarding the Manufactures", as that is the title of the sculpture that represents a similar scene, found on top of the building.



Sources:
British Listed Buildings
Wikimedia Commons Photo by GavinWarrin
The website of Bob Speel
British Association for the Advancement of Science. "Handbook of Birmingham." Birmingham: Hall and English Printers, 1886. 123.
Foster, Andy and George Demidowicz. Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. 63.

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