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In his 1934 work ''English Journey'' [[J.B. Priestley]] described Gateshead: "If there is any town of like size on the continent of Europe that can show a similar lack of civic dignity and all the evidence of an urban civilization, I should like to know its name and quality. No true civilization could have produced such a town, which is nothing better than a huge dingy dormitory".
In his 1934 work ''English Journey'' [[J.B. Priestley]] described Gateshead: "If there is any town of like size on the continent of Europe that can show a similar lack of civic dignity and all the evidence of an urban civilization, I should like to know its name and quality. No true civilization could have produced such a town, which is nothing better than a huge dingy dormitory".
In 1986 the MetroCentre, Britain's first large out-of-town shopping mall on the American model, was opened on the outskirts of Gateshead on the site of a former cokeworks. Although it further damaged the town centre economy of Gateshead, it has become an imoprtant employment and retail centre on [[Tyneside]] and has served as the model for several other large centres around British cities.
In 1992 the second of a series of Garden Festivals promoted by the Conservative government minister [[Michael Heseltine]] and intended to stimulate regeneration was held at Gateshead (the first was in Liverpool; others were held at [[Stoke on Trent]] and [[Merthyr Tydfil]]). Although enjoyed by large crowds, it failed to have the intended long term catalytic effect.
In 1992 the second of a series of Garden Festivals promoted by the Conservative government minister [[Michael Heseltine]] and intended to stimulate regeneration was held at Gateshead (the first was in Liverpool; others were held at [[Stoke on Trent]] and [[Merthyr Tydfil]]). Although enjoyed by large crowds, it failed to have the intended long term catalytic effect.
Gateshead Council has for many years pursued a policy of using art as a motor for urban regeneration. This policy culminated in recent years with the opening of the Baltic, a centre for contemporary art in a converted grain warehouse, and the Sage Music Centre, on its formerly run-down quayside. The arts complex is surrounded by expensive apartments and is connected to the cafes, bars and hotels of Newcastle's quayside by a landmark opening pedestrian/cycle bridge, likened to an opening eye.
Sources:
Sources:
J.B. Priestley, ''English Journey'' (1934)
J.B. Priestley, ''English Journey'' (1934)