New lease of life for Belfast's Art Deco bank?
The former Bank of Ireland building at the corner of Belfast's Royal Avenue and North Street has been called one of the finest Modernist buildings in Ireland. Finished in what was presumably once bright white Portland limestone, this Art Deco wonder was built from 1928-1930 and was Grade B+ listed in 1990. It was designed by the architect Joseph Vincent Downes for the Dublin-based firm of McDonnell & Dixon, a practice responsible for many bank and office buildings of different styles in Ireland from the 1900s and which is still in business today! Despite its status, and like so many of the buildings on nearby North Street, the Bank of Ireland building in Belfast seemed destined to fall into a state of disrepair after its closure in 2005. Thankfully it seems like the bank is to get a new lease of life as part of a significant new tourism and cultural regeneration investment by none other than Belfast City Council. I, for one, will be keen to visit when it opens again in 2028!