In Albert Square in June 1932

Now this is not one of the best quality postcards in the collection but it is one of the only ones I have of the Town Hall and Albert Square in the 1930s.

The exact date is a bit in doubt but the image was registered on the catalogue list of Valentine & Sons on June 28th 1932, although it may have been taken earlier.

The company of Valentine & Sons began producing photographic postcards in the early 1860's and continued as an independent company for a century before being taken over in 1963 by John Waddington and later sold on to Hallmark Cards INC of the United States in 1980.*

And as you do I have become more interested in Valentine’s but that is for another time, suffice to say the collection is with the University of St Andrews**

Going back to the Town Hall it is a scene which I pretty much remember from when I arrived in 1969.

Of course the trams had gone, along with the old fashioned taxis and the Town Hall had just been  cleaned up, but otherwise it is a scene that looks familiar enough.

But the space behind Albert was still the taxi rank, and the buildings to the left of the tram were still there, not that I can remember them.

But then I was just 19 and that long old block of grime and smoke covered offices and shops held no special attraction.

Looking back I wish I had taken an interest in them.

Certainly those remaining to the north and south of the square are fine buildings and have adapted well to a new century.

As of course has the Town Hall which is a place I never tire of visiting.

Picture; from the collection of Alan Brown

*University of St Andrews Valentine Collection, University of St Andrews 1999, revised 2010
**http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/imu/imu.php?request=home