King Kong is Back was a trail at the Bullring during November 2015 (more than 5 years ago now). It was a trail by the Newness Archive who installed hundreds of tags with facts about Birmingham's history of invention and newness. These were on the Bullring Link Bridge (now called Link Street). Pointing to Kong inside of Selfridges. There was once a Kong statue at the Bull Ring in 1972.

View feature View community

King Kong is Back at the Bullring (November 2015)


King Kong is Back at the Bullring (November 2015)


King Kong is Back was a trail at the Bullring during November 2015 (more than 5 years ago now). It was a trail by the Newness Archive who installed hundreds of tags with facts about Birmingham's history of invention and newness. These were on the Bullring Link Bridge (now called Link Street). Pointing to Kong inside of Selfridges. There was once a Kong statue at the Bull Ring in 1972.


KING KONG IS BACK

Going back to early November 2015, when King Kong returned to the Bullring, for the first time since 1972 (kind of). Starting from the Bullring Link Bridge, in the windows of the then empty shop units (now called Link Street), there was blow up King Kong's (looked more like gorilla's). If you followed the arrows to Selfridges, you would find a much larger King Kong!

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (1).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

In this shop window alone was around five blow up King Kong's.

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (2).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

There was hundreds of tags in the windows by Newness Archive, containing facts about Birmingham's history. In 1972 a 23ft high King Kong was installed in Manzoni Gardens. It wasn't there for long.

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (3).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

Another window on the Bullring Link Bridge, this time with three Kong's!

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (4).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

One of the three King Kong's. Go to Selfridges an celebrate the opening of Grand Central (which had opened to the public less than two months before).

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (5).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

 

After a search around Selfridges, I found King Kong near Diesel and Trapstar.

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (6).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

King Kong is Back screams the yellow plinth below!

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (7).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

Kong was in the menswear section of Selfridges.

dndimg alt="King Kong is Back" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong is Back (Nov 2015) (8).JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

Photos taken by Elliott Brown. Can be found on Twitter: ellrbrown

 

King Kong in Manzoni Gardens at the Bull Ring Shopping Centre, 1972

Here we see the infamous King Kong statue in Manzoni Gardens at the Bull Ring Shopping Centre during 1972. Photos courtesy of the Birmingham Mail.

dndimg alt="King Kong 1972" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong BM 1972 (1).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />

Children in 1972 posed with the King Kong statue at the old Bull Ring.

dndimg alt="King Kong 1972" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/King Kong BM 1972 (2).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />

The statue moved around Birmingham during 1972. Over the years it has been located at Penrith in the Lake District (2011). It was also once in an exhibition in Leeds during 2016, but it has never returned to Birmingham, but it still exists up north somewhere.

Archive photos from the Birmingham Mail.