The building in that photo was actually 1930s, so pre-blitz. It was quite well appointed inside, all oak panelling, Brazilian hardwood flooring and quite a lot of ornament (above the crappy suspended ceiling of the bargain clothes shop on the ground floor was an elaborate plaster dome). This was originally the showrooms/HQ for the local electricity company, housing offices etc, a deep basement with loads of switchgear and a retail bit on ground floor for selling all the latest labour-saving devices, something quite prestigious in those days hence the fancy decor.
Like a lot of steel-framed buildings from that era it was built without allowing for much expansion, so there were some issues with facade cracking at the corners, plus flat roof problems and so on, quite knackered but not beyond saving, they could have done something with it but it was more that it didn’t really fit with the master plan layout, they just swept out several hectares of buildings in the end to give them a clean slate. I did see some irony in them smashing down the characterful 1850s pub with wonky bay windows (a result of bomb damage) then sticking a food court with pub on more or less exactly the same spot, I’m sure with a bit of imagination they could have made a feature of it.
The other big building was the former ABC cinema immediately outside the station, famous for once hosting a Beatles concert, this closed in about 87 (still had posters for The Living Daylights inside) but shops around the outside at ground level stayed open until just before it closed. This meant it remained secured and nobody had been in to ransack the place, much was unchanged from the night it shut (apart from parts where pigeons had got in through broken windows and shat all over the place). A bingo company had planned to use the main screen area after it closed and had started strip out the seats, but then merged with another bingo company that already had a branch locally so that plan was abandoned. I had the keys for the place for a couple of years before demolition and spent a lot of time wandering around with surveyors or by myself, so much to explore. I took quite a lot of treasure home (old posters, film magazines, a nice vintage ribbon microphone, 80s Argos catalogues from the staff room...). Also full of asbestos due to renovation works in the 50s and 70s, it cost them an absolute fortune to strip it all out before it came down.
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