text: A once legendary dance venue has been abandoned and left to rot after years of hosting legendary nights.
  The Tower Ballroom was originally a roller skating rink and became a dance hall in the 1920s, but has been earmarked for housing since 2017.
  A once famous venue in Birmingham it was the scene of many a legendary night.
  Many found love within its walls near Edgbaston reservoir and it became one of the top places to go dancing in the area.
  BirminghamLive, however, reports pictures from inside show a venue which has been left to rot after years of neglect.
  At the end of last year, it was announced that the 146-year-old venue was to be demolished to make way for housing.
  While there is no date set for the demolition, work is expected to get underway over the coming months.
  The much-loved Tower Ballroom started its life in the 1870s as a roller skating rink before becoming a dance hall in the 1920s – it quickly established itself as one the city’s best loved nightspots.
  Over the years the venue has hosted boxing matches, boating events and was even briefly a rifle range for the Volunteer Training Corps in the First World War.
  Now a shadow of its former self, the images show the walls caked in graffiti, mounds of rubble on the dancefloor and ceiling panels dangling from the roof.
  For many, seeing the much-loved venue in its current state will be hard to see.
  This was a place where memories were made, soulmates met and friends danced the night away.
  The eerie images inside the Tower were taken by John McGregor who has lived by the entrance of Edgbaston Reservoir for many years.
  He posted the pictures on a local Facebook group which quickly prompted a flood of comments from heart-broken partygoers.
  Elizabeth Barnes said: “So sad to see these pictures. We played in the car park as kids.
  “As adults we went to the occasional dances.”
  Shelly Dawn added: “It’s such a shame, I used to go to dance competitions there,” added Shelly Dawn.
  The pictures show the collapse of its roof which caved in with roof tiles and light fittings hanging off the walls.
  Grainy photographs have emerged of stage which once revolved in the club during its later years as a nightclub.
  Images show a hand drawn map of the venue with fire escapes highlighted for revellers.
  Others how a deserted and abandoned bar which would have had dancers queuing in large numbers during its time as a night club.
  An image from the bar area shows what would have been a hugely busy attraction with scores of optics ready to serve revellers whatever hip drink they were quaffing at the time.
  The roof of the club shows where scores of lights would have provided the atmosphere for club nights and other events.
  During its time it has hosted roller-skating, ice-skating, dancing, discos, weddings, boxing matches, theatre and gigs by The Smiths and New Order.
  It now has graffiti covering the walls of the historic venue which many people loved and had place in the hearts of those who have memories of the different periods in its history.
  The venue has stood at the site since 1914, when it was built to be a cinema with a capacity for 1,200 people.
  As a nightclub it operated since 1983 and used several names over the decades.
  But it was the Nineties and early Noughties which were the club’s true heyday after it was reinvented following its early years as a ballroom.
  In 2005, the Tower Ballroom was scheduled to close after plans were unveiled to build homes and apartments on the site.
  This prompted a ‘Last Dance’ event in December 2005 to remember it, but Birmingham City Council refused to change the use of land and demolition of the venue never happened.
  It later reopened in April 2008 as ‘the Tower’ and people in the West Midlands will always remember the venue for its “Tower For An Hour”.
  Earlier this month it was revealed the venue was again on the market after re-opening for just four months.