In the NorthWest of England....Morecambe's Art Deco jewel 'The Midland Hotel' recently re-opened it's doors thanks to 'Urban Splash' after being abandoned and boarded up in a sorry state for many years. The place came real close to being demolished.
It really is a beauty and a great example of all things Art Deco.
It originally opened in 1933 and was designed by Oliver Hill for The LMS Railway Company. The interior has decoration by Eric Gill and Marion Dorn.
Many famous names have stayed there over the years, Coco Chanel, Laurence Olivier, Frankie Vaughan, Shirley Bassey, Joe Loss and Wallace Simpson to name a few.
The hotel's glory years were the 1930's but it became a hospital during the 2nd world war.It closed in 2000 after struggling to pull in the punters for many years as the British seaside holiday industry went bellyup. Urban Splash bought the place and have been restoring it to it's former glory.
I stayed there with Susan a couple of weekends ago and i love the place (though i also liked it went it was shut down and boarded up). One of the bars in there looks like a scene from a David Lynch film.