As someone whose childhood was punctuated by visits to Mowbray Park, including obligatory ‘rides’ on the lions around the pond, I’ve always had a soft spot for this city centre gem.
Browsing the Museum gift shop in search of Christmas presents a few weeks ago, I came across a contemporary postcard taken from almost exactly the same spot as one I already owned. Not sure of the date of the old one – I’m guessing 1970s/1980s:
… and here’s the modern view, as the park is now – for non-Mackems, the large glass building is the superb Winter Gardens – one of Sunderland’s millennium projects:
Across the two views you can see all three components of what was the first publicly-funded museum in the country outside London, and what is still one of the most-visited museums in the country. Makes you proud to be a Mackem.
