Original 30's Italian Cafe turned into sandwich bar :-(

[PADDY]

http://russelldavies.typepad.com/ateaandathink/2004/07/cafe_riviera_ne.html

Cafe Riviera, Quay Wall, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Under Threat from Feb 2004 has now become "Neville's Nibbles!!"

Another 1930's iconic Cafe is being trashed :-( By people who just don't care about our vintage, Golden Era heritage.

Art deco walls of Cafe Riviera in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (Northumberland) faces a very uncertain future as far as preservation of it's past is concerned! As original 30's and 40's signs have disappeared.

Frozen in time since before the Second World War, the Riviera Café was developed from a group of cottages which looked out over Newbiggin Bay in the 1930s.

Italian shopkeeper Benjamin Bertorelli created the building in stages and it was finally completed in 1937. The café was taken over by his son, Armando, who refused to follow changing fashions over the decades and kept it just the way it was in his father's day. It was a time capsule to Art Deco!

Up until being bought over recently, it had the same tables, chairs, light fittings and display units that were brought in when it was built in the 30's!!!.

The building remained unchanged, apart from regular decoration throughout the war years, the days of rationing, the rock `n' roll years, 1960s fashions, the Beatles era, men walking on the Moon and robot missions to Mars.

The ice cream sold was made to a family recipe handed down through the generations (according to family legend, Bertorelli ice cream was a firm favourite of Queen Victoria) and the coffee was made to a blend Benjamin Bertorelli invented... "

At the beginning of this month (May 07) it has opened its doors under new management under the name of Neville's Nibbles and been moved into the 21st Century :-( R.I.P....

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Any pics Mr M?

Are the sandwich bar people planning on ripping away all the deco features? this is the only way i can see this being a bad story . . .

bk

 

[cookie]

Art Deco

http://russelldavies.typepad.com/ateaandathink/2004/07/cafe_riviera_ne.html

Cafe Riviera, Quay Wall, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Under Threat from Feb 2004 has now become "Neville's Nibbles!!"

Another 1930's iconic Cafe is being trashed :-( By people who just don't care about our vintage, Golden Era heritage.

Art deco walls of Cafe Riviera in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (Northumberland) faces a very uncertain future as far as preservation of it's past is concerned! As original 30's and 40's signs have disappeared.

Frozen in time since before the Second World War, the Riviera Café was developed from a group of cottages which looked out over Newbiggin Bay in the 1930s.

Italian shopkeeper Benjamin Bertorelli created the building in stages and it was finally completed in 1937. The café was taken over by his son, Armando, who refused to follow changing fashions over the decades and kept it just the way it was in his father's day. It was a time capsule to Art Deco!

Up until being bought over recently, it had the same tables, chairs, light fittings and display units that were brought in when it was built in the 30's!!!.

The building remained unchanged, apart from regular decoration throughout the war years, the days of rationing, the rock `n' roll years, 1960s fashions, the Beatles era, men walking on the Moon and robot missions to Mars.

The ice cream sold was made to a family recipe handed down through the generations (according to family legend, Bertorelli ice cream was a firm favourite of Queen Victoria) and the coffee was made to a blend Benjamin Bertorelli invented... "

At the beginning of this month (May 07) it has opened its doors under new management under the name of Neville's Nibbles and been moved into the 21st Century :-( R.I.P....

It is hard to comprehend how Art Deco is so popular yet it gets continually demolished. A few years ago we lost the Rural Bank which was one of the finest Art Deco buildings in Sydney. In my home town of Manly they demolished one of Sydneys finest 1929 era theatres and replaced it with some 1980s excresence. We have country towns like Brewarrina where the Greek cafe owners from the Golden Era preserved their heritage cafes and these are now protected by consrvation laws. It says a lot for the conservation laws in Northumberland that such an iconic place could be destroyed. But then follow the money trail they tell me....:rage:

 

[dundeedavie]

i adore art-deco architecture and get very upset about the destruction of it .... this is a local building contractors in my home town , dundee .

 

[berrybuzz]

What are your historic building/location laws like there?

I know that here (in Arizona), if you can get a place listed as a historic building/landmark, the core structure of the place (or at least the outer structure) can't be demolished. But the inside is not so well protected.

It may be protected to some extent but it's got enough loopholes to get around it easily. For example. THere was a theater here, originally built in 1938 if I recall correctly. Up until about 10 years ago, it still had a lot of it's original equipment/etc. The outdoor ticket booth, the concession stand, the projection room, the backstage area (yes it had a stage).
The owner (son of the original owner) -hated- that theater. He wanted to tear it down but wasn't allowed to, since it's considered a Historic site. So in the name of 'restoration' he gutted the inside entirely and made it an all new theater inside, complete with stadium style seating. I about cried when I walked in there after it re-opened.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

BUT...the owners of the building have to agree to the listing as a unique or historic structure. That usually causes them to take a huge hit on resale value. What usually happens is there's this lovely old building, they owners sell to someone who says they're going to preserve it and then the new owners immediately start plans on demolishing it and putting up something in its place, a "Save the --- Building!" campaign is started and usually can't raise funds fast enough to stop the demolition.

Wasn't there a story here recently like that - a family sold a beautiful building they'd lovingly cared for to someone who was supposedly going to preserve it, and the ink's hardly dry on the contract when he announces he's going to tear down, and before anyone can do anything, he personally starts bulldozing in the middle of the night. Before the cops arrive to stop him, he of course has done enough that the building HAS to come down. He's fined a hundred thousand or so for not having proper permits, but he's laughing all the way to the bank knowing he's going to make millions (and does) off the finished project. Or did I read that somewhere else?