page_title: Bank Buildings, Belfast
section_title: Third building
hierarchical_section_title: Bank Buildings, Belfast / History / Third building
caption_attribution_description: Moving from downtown Nobber to a more sophisticated and meropolitan Belfast to Castle junction with department stores and fine buildings on display! Collection: The Lawrence Photograph Collection Photographer: Robert French Date: between 1880-1900 NLI Ref: L_ROY_00322 You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
context_page_description: The Bank Buildings is a Grade B1-listed five-storey building located at the intersection of Castle Street and Royal Avenue in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was designed and built between 1899 and 1900 by W. H. Lynn as a department store and warehouse, owned by the firm of Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson & Co. It stands on the site of a bank erected in 1785, from which it takes its name.
  Since 1979, it has been owned by the Dublin-based company Primark, and serves as their flagship store in Northern Ireland.
  On 28 August 2018, during a £30 million two-year renovation, the building was gutted by fire, severely damaging most of the internal structure. Primark opted to restore the building to its 1900 appearance while expanding the size of the store, a process that will last until at least 2022.
context_section_description: The best known Bank Buildings were constructed between 1899 and 1900. The architect W. H. Lynn allowed for large plate glass windows to be installed in the lower floors. The department store continued to operate on the first two floors whilst the upper floors were used as a warehouse for the wholesale side of the business.
  The building remained under the ownership of Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson & Co. until the House of Fraser group took control of the company in 1969. The department store still continued to operate from Bank Buildings until Boots took over from House of Fraser. Boots was then forced to move out in 1975. On 9 April 1975, three bombs were detonated inside Bank Buildings, starting a fire that extensively damaged the building. Refurbishments were carried out in 1979 and after 18 months the new owners, Primark Stores Limited established a store. They remain the current owners of the Bank Buildings.
caption: The Bank Buildings, along the left of the image, circa 1900
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