A slightly different Throwback Thursday this time were the bus is not really the primary interest in the photo but rather the background is.
D 533 is seen on Tara Street and is not operating a route. It was delivered new to Phibsboro Garage in 1973 and was withdrawn in 1991. Like a lot of buses in 1988, this has received the Dublin Millennium badge alongside the company name on the side of the bus. Apart from that there is not a lot else to say about the bus.
So why is the background more interesting? Behind the bus is Apollo House. This was built in 1969 and was one of three buildings in the area that were of a similar style. Hawkins House from 1962 and College House from 1974 being the other two. Collectively all three are regarded as some of the worse looking buildings in Dublin. With all three being eight storeys or over, they did dominate the skyline. During the 2000s Apollo House was sold and lay empty for a while. Plans existed for a long time to demolish and redevelop all three buildings but the 2008 recession delayed those plans. Before Christmas 2016 Apollo House was taken over by activists to house some homeless people and to highlight the crisis affecting the country. By early 2017 they were gone and the building was empty again. Finally 2018 demolition began and by August of that year the site was completely flattened. Around the same time Hawkins House was emptied and work began on College House. It seems after all of these decades, the redevelopment is finally happening. 21/09/1988
Throwback Thursday (141) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr
D 533 is seen on Tara Street and is not operating a route. It was delivered new to Phibsboro Garage in 1973 and was withdrawn in 1991. Like a lot of buses in 1988, this has received the Dublin Millennium badge alongside the company name on the side of the bus. Apart from that there is not a lot else to say about the bus.
So why is the background more interesting? Behind the bus is Apollo House. This was built in 1969 and was one of three buildings in the area that were of a similar style. Hawkins House from 1962 and College House from 1974 being the other two. Collectively all three are regarded as some of the worse looking buildings in Dublin. With all three being eight storeys or over, they did dominate the skyline. During the 2000s Apollo House was sold and lay empty for a while. Plans existed for a long time to demolish and redevelop all three buildings but the 2008 recession delayed those plans. Before Christmas 2016 Apollo House was taken over by activists to house some homeless people and to highlight the crisis affecting the country. By early 2017 they were gone and the building was empty again. Finally 2018 demolition began and by August of that year the site was completely flattened. Around the same time Hawkins House was emptied and work began on College House. It seems after all of these decades, the redevelopment is finally happening. 21/09/1988
Throwback Thursday (141) by Cathal O'Brien, on Flickr
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