During the research for my film Gardens of Stone, I came across a documentary entitled Homes For Workers. It was made the the Gas Board in 1938 and is introduced by Lanceloy Keay, Liverpool Chief Architect. It details many of Keay's developments, including the jewel in his crown 'Gerard Gardens'. It details the 'luxuries' introduced into 1930's residents; hot & cold running water, gas & electric power, indoor toilets and bathrooms (some homeowners in the city still had outside toilets in the 1960's!).
I have uploaded excerpts from the film to Youtube, click the link to view;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEg8QK23NTk
The tenements were given bad press at the end of their lives, but one could only wonder at the joy the first residents to the new blocks must have felt. My mam and dad moved into the flat in 1960, leaving a condemed house in Queen Anne Place and loved it. The flats have been described as ugly, but I would consider Gerard Gardens, with its art deco styling, to be a work of beauty (its in the eye of the beholder!). The Karl Marx Hof in Vienna, on which it was based, is still standing, and stands as a testimony as to how other countries have more respect for their heritage they we do.
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