Editing Broad Street, Birmingham (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Broad Street from the western end print contrast.jpg|thumb|A print from an 1894 book showing the former Presbyterian church and now demolished Church of the Messiah (on Broad Street Tunnel)]]
[[File:Baskerville House from Broad Street, Birmingham.jpg|thumb|[[Baskerville House]] in 2007]]
In the 1500s, the area which is now known as Broad Street was made up of several schools and [[guild]]s such as The Biddles/Free School, Colmore, Shillon/Smallbrooke Guild/School, Billwiggler Croft and [[Bingley Hall|Byngas Hall]] which was later to become a home for the [[Lloyds Bank]] family and subsequently [[Bingley Hall]] and then [[Symphony Hall, Birmingham|Symphony Hall]]/ICC after Bingley Hall burned down.

In the 1750s, Broad Street was an unnamed country path that ran across Easy Hill from Bewdley Street (now [[Victoria Square, Birmingham|Victoria Square]]) and Swinford Street (now the top end of [[New Street, Birmingham|New Street]]) to [[Five Ways, Birmingham|Five Ways]] and on to [[Stourbridge]] and [[Bewdley]].

However, in the following years, Easy Hill began to develop with the construction of a house by [[John Baskerville]], a local printer and type-face designer. This led to the widening of the street which passed in front of his house. The path was soon removed and an established street was added that ran to the border of [[Edgbaston]] and, as a result of its widening, it was named Broad Street.

[[St Martin in the Bull Ring|St Martin's Church]] owned land on the southern end of Broad Street, at what is now Five Ways, and began to develop the land in 1773 after the passing of an [[Act of Parliament]]. The {{convert|22|acre|adj=on}} site was developed into an estate known as the 'Six Closes' or the 'Islington Estate' (named after Islington Row which bounded the south of the site). [[The Crown Inn, Birmingham|The Crown Inn]] was built in 1781, and survives in modified form.<ref name="Foster">{{Cite book| publisher = Yale University Press| isbn = 9780300107319| last = Foster| first = Andy| title = Birmingham: Pevsner Architectural Guides| location = New Haven| year = 2005}}</ref> By 1795, several streets had been created according to Pye's map. One of the streets that remain from the development is Tennant Street, named after William Tennant who had the [[advowson]] of St Martin's Church. Development slowed as a result of overseas wars, but rapidly increased after the [[Battle of Waterloo]].

[[File:Hyatt Regency -Birmingham -UK.jpg|thumb|upright|Hyatt Regency Hotel]]

Land along the street also developed and became a well established neighbourhood as a result of the connections with industry and Edgbaston, an upmarket area. In the 19th century, well established industries were established along the canals at the northern end of the street and residential properties were built at the southern end. Churches of various denominations were also built along the stretch of Broad Street, such as the [[General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches|Unitarian]] [[Church of the Messiah, Birmingham|Church of the Messiah]], the [[Roman Catholic]] St Peter's Church, and the [[Anglican]] [[Immanuel Church, Birmingham|Immanuel Church]].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

===Transformation===
[[File:The Library of Birmingham.jpg|thumb|right|The Library of Birmingham is on Broad Street]]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Broad Street was still very much a suburban high street. However, one prescient early manifestation of the street's future purpose as a fashionable partying district was the [[Rum Runner (nightclub)|Rum Runner]] nightclub, which from the late 1970s restyled itself after [[New York City]]'s [[Studio 54]] and later London's [[Blitz Kids|Blitz]] club. The club was best known as the original home base of major 1980s band [[Duran Duran]]. It was situated on the South side at the East end of the road from 1964 to 1987 when it was demolished.

During the 1990s, Broad Street was transformed into a dynamic convention, entertainment and [[nightlife]] quarter, centred on the [[International Convention Centre, Birmingham|International Convention Centre]], which opened in 1991.

The Broad Street area is home to numerous bars and restaurants, the [[Brindleyplace]] development and cultural attractions such as the [[Ikon Gallery]].

Three major [[radio station]]s - [[Free Radio]], [[Capital Birmingham]] and [[100.7 Heart FM]] - have their studios on the street. From 1969 to 1999 the area was a major national television production facility. The junction with Paradise Circus was home to the [[television studio|studios]] of former [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] companies [[Associated Television|ATV]] and [[Central Independent Television|Central]]; the studios (on the land between the [[Alpha Tower]] and the former [[Birmingham Municipal Bank]]) have since been demolished.

===Traffic and transport===
[[File:Broad Street, Birmingham, UK - 20130705.jpg|thumb|Traffic along Broad Street in July 2013]]

There is long standing concern over [[traffic congestion]] in the evenings when car drivers attracted by the nightlife are [[Cruising for sex|cruising]] the area. There was a proposal to ban cars during Friday and Saturday evenings<ref>[http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2010/04/03/call-to-ban-cars-from-birmingham-s-broad-street-in-peak-hour-97319-26165698/]; [http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2010/03/31/birmingham-s-broad-street-buses-to-be-axed-over-traffic-jams-65233-26143325/]</ref> and in 1998 there was a plan to ban cars every evening after 8.00 pm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60718902.html |title=BROAD STREET CAR BAN PLAN; Nightlife. - Birmingham Evening Mail (England) &#124; HighBeam Research |website=www.highbeam.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106052158/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60718902.html |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Broad Street is served by several [[National Express West Midlands]] bus routes.<ref>[http://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/places-to-visit/nights-out/birmingham/ Birmingham] ''National Express West Midlands''</ref> The road's only night bus service ceased in 2008.<ref>[http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/late-night-buses-in-broad-street-63168 Late night buses in Broad Street to be scrapped] ''Birmingham Mail''</ref>

The [[West Midlands Metro]] was extended along Broad Street to [[Five Ways tram stop|Five Ways]] between 2015 and 2019 with stops at [[Library tram stop|Birmingham Library]], [[Brindleyplace tram stop|Brindleyplace]] and Five Ways.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130616085953/http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/PressReleases/PressRelease58747.aspx]; [https://archive.today/20130616085904/http://www.centro.org.uk/metro/TWA/Bham_index.aspx]</ref> The proposed SPRINT [[bus rapid transit]] route between Birmingham and [[Quinton, Birmingham|Quinton]] would also serve Broad Street.<ref>[http://www.centro.org.uk/about-us/news/2014/sprint-to-make-birmingham-debut-on-broad-street-and-hagley-road/ Sprint plan unveiled between Birmingham and Quinton] ''centro''</ref>