King Olav of Norway opened Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968, and naturally Pathe News was on hand to record the occasion. No sign of 'Mr Newcastle' T. Dan Smith, though, perhaps he was away at one of his many trials.
Designed by City Architect George Kenyon, the Civic Centre is a glorious piece of modernism at the heart of the city. It's not hard to see echoes of the work of Basil Spence and Federick Gibberd here. There's a rather grand modernist crown on the tower, topped with seahorses, and the design has an appropriately Scandinavian air for a city twinned with Bergen. There's also a Victor Pasmore mural inside, presumably appearing as part of a North-East job lot alongside his pavilion in Peterlee.
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