Great Victoria Street Station

Great Victoria Street Station. City Centre. , On 12 August 1839, thousands gathered in Great Victoria Street to watch the opening of the first railway in Belfast – the Ulster Railway linking Belfast with Lisburn. The coming of the railways gave a new impulse to the growth of Belfast and helped fuel its spectacular development as an industrial city., The present railway station and bus terminus stands on the site of the former Great Northern Railway Station, 1848, since demolished. One vestige of the GNR’s influence does however remain. In the 1880s, Michael Flanagan took over the Railway Tavern, an inconspicuous travellers’ inn opposite the GNR and created the Crown Bar. A gem in Belfast’s architectural crown, it is a rare and remarkably intact survivor of the 19th century gin palaces., The Grand Opera House, opposite the Crown Bar, displays similar high Victorian artistry. Designed by the leading theatre architect, Frank Matcham, the Grand Opera House is a glorious expression of the skills of Victorian architects, painters and craftsmen and has continued to delight Belfast audiences since it first opened in 1895., Contemporary Belfast offers much of interest as well. From the City Hall, a brisk wall down Chichester Street will lead to Lanyon Place, on the banks of the River Lagan, home to the magnificent Waterfront Hall. It opened for business in 1997 and the city takes real pride in this splendid, glass fronted, circular concert hall, which at night appears to float on the river.