Today we’re travelling 70 years into Birmingham’s past to check out some old photos and see just how much the city has changed.
Birmingham's economy flourished in the 30 years that followed the end of the Second World War, but there were some difficult times in the 1950s, although unemployment in Birmingham between 1948 and 1966 rarely exceeded 1%, and only exceeded 2% in one year. World War II had seen a huge expansion in the role of central government in British life, and this pattern continued into the post-war years and during the fifties. For Birmingham, this meant major decisions about the city's future tended to be made outside the city, mainly in Westminster.
In Brum, 1954 was a also a year that saw the end of food rationing following the war, but there was also a shortage of coal around the city.
It was also a year in which the Digbeth Institute was put up for sale (it opened in 1908).
Let’s take a look back to see what life was like for Brummies 70 years ago. Here are 12 old pictures looking at life for Brummies in 1964.

1. Austin Motor Company car factory, Longbridge
Austin Motor Company car factory, Longbridge, 1954 : assembly line of the Austin A30 : inspection of cars at the end of the line | Getty Images

2. Factory workers
Workers making clothes at the Dunlop factory production line, Birmingham, UK, March 8th 1954. | Getty Images

3. The Baggies in 1954
West Bromwich Albion player Ronnie Allen and goalkeeper Ray Wood (r) in the bootroom circa 1954 in West Bromwich, England | (Photo by Don Morley/Allsport/Getty Images)

4. Outside the Rover factory in Birmingham
25th February 1954: Members of the Trans-Africa team pose for photographs outside the Rover factory in Birmingham. The Landrovers will travel over 25,000 miles, something never before attempted, over the Sahara, through the Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), into the Middle East via the Nile Valley and back through Turkey. | (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)