NAAFI Building, Notte st/Armada Way, Plymouth – E M Joseph – 1949-51 – (demolished 2010)
Also known as the Hoe Centre, I managed to catch a few photos of the building before it was completely demolished in Autumn 2010. (These piccies were taken in September 2010, and I can only apologise to my loyal fans for the amount of time it has taken me to get them up here!)
For those of you less in the know, NAAFI stands for Navy Army & Air Forces Institution. It was opened in 1952 by Princess Margaret and was designed by the same architect behind the landmark Shell Mex House on The Strand in London.
It was demolished by its owners the University of Plymouth, because it was deemed to be unsafe apparently and is now going to be replaced with student accommodation. Frankly I think this is a damned shame. It was a unique and magnificent building and formed a key element in Abercrombie’s post-war plan for the city of Plymouth, which had been heavily hit by bombing raids during WW2. This was one of the last surviving buildings of its type in the country.
a shame indeed – thanks for sharing