Installed in 1999 at a cost around £270,000 Shoulder To Shoulder consisted of 52 concrete figures that were designed to act as a safety barrier to protect pedestrians from heavy traffic around the Haymarket Metro station.
The statues also had a water feature which did'nt work too well, often soaking unaware passers-by when it was windy, and it was turned off permanently some time later. The statues quickly became known as the Lego Men and you would have been hard pushed to find someone that did not have an opinion on them.
31st May 2005
21st August 2005
They were removed in 2008 when the Haymarket Metro Station was redeveloped, but will be put back, according to a council spokesperson. They never made it back to the Haymarket.
Ideas for the relocation of the statues have included Exhibition Park, Great Park housing estate near Gosforth and Hadrian’s Way coast-to-coast trail. Meanwhile, they lie on an unsecured bit of wasteland near the Central Motorway.
20th February 2011
In September 2011 Newcastle City Council said the Lego Men sculptures would be sold on eBay and one was given away in a competition by the Evening Chronicle.
The Lost Lego Men of Newcastle.
More Information:
- Sitelines: Haymarket, 'Shoulder to Shoulder'
- BBC: Newcastle Lego Men sculptures for sale on eBay
- BBC: Newcastle 'Lego Man' sells for more than £1,000 in online auction
See my other photos around The Haymarket:
- Barras Bridge, Lord Armstrong Statue
- Barras Bridge, Royal Tank Regiment War Memorial
- Barras Bridge, The Civic Centre
- Barras Bridge, The Great North Museum
- Barras Bridge, The Hancock Museum
- Barras Bridge, The Response (War Memorial)
- Haymarket
- Haymarket, Metro Station (Redevelopment)
- Newcastle University
- Northumberland Street
- Northumbria University
- Percy Street
1 comment:
They were pretty unloved weren't they? those poor old lego men.
I think, like you, they were in the wrong place, a war memorial is a place which should be dignified.
The lego men shouldn't go to waste though, they would look fine somewhere a bit more appropriate, as you suggest.
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