Description:In the distance is Stoke's town hall, Kings Hall.
The half-timbered building in the foreground is listed in the 1928 directory as Hill & Ainsworth Ltd, printers and stationers.
This building is on the corner of Copeland Street and was demolished in the early 1970’s as part of the A500 'D-road' project.
This road, Glebe St, was built up in order to cross the Trent & Mersey canal and the A500.
The new civic buildings now stand on the bookshop site.
Remembering the King's Hall
Bernard - a visitor - remembers many a Saturday night spent at the King's Hall:
"Every Saturday evening there was dance at the Kings Hall, Stoke, commencing at 8pm and finishing at 11pm.
"Most of the males attending called at the Glebe Hotel for a few 'looseners' before entering the hall.
"There they would find all the girls lined up on one side of the hall and all the men on the other. It was very strange.
"When the band conductors annouced a dance, men would cross the floor and invite a lady to dance with them.
"Dancing comprised of three different tunes all of the same tempo. For example, three Waltzes together, then a break and a chat with the lady, and then the return to one's own friends on the other side.
"The dances involved were Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot and occasionally the Tango. The others are difficult to describe, the Conga and the Palais Glide. These were more like communal dances with many people involved.
"There were bars at the Kings Hall. Half the blokes were 'three parts cut' at the end of the evening!"
About this photograph
This photograph is now among the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.