Editing Centenary Square (section)

===Civic Centre proposals===
[[File:Centenary Square 1932.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the area in 1932]]
In 1918, [[William Haywood (architect)|William Haywood]] published the book ''The Development of Birmingham'' within which he proposed a scheme to create a grand civic centre west of [[Victoria Square, Birmingham|Victoria Square]]. The original concept had provision for a cathedral, two exhibition halls, Natural History Museum, War Museum and memorial, Opera House, new post office and formal gardens. The area was cleared by the council in the 1920s to form the open space of what is now Centenary Square. The first building to be completed was the [[Hall of Memory, Birmingham|Hall of Memory]] and its associated colonnade in 1925, to facilitate this the southern arm of Baskerville Wharf was infilled. In 1926 a competition assessed by [[Henry Vaughan Lanchester]] was won by Maximilian Romanoff of Paris, but his scheme was judged too expensive and a basic plan was made by [[S. N. Cooke]], A.J. Swann and the City Engineer Hubert Humphries. In 1936 after Winfields Rolling Mill ceased operations the Gibsons Arm could be infilled paving way for the construction of [[Baskerville House]] which was completed in 1938–40. The Second World War halted any further development of the Civic Centre and it remained unbuilt.