History of Newcastle Quayside from shipbuilding hub to cultural destination home to 90-metre vibrant mural

Newcastle's Quayside has long been a place of transformation.

Once the powerhouse of the city's maritime and industrial dominance, the area has evolved over the centuries from a hub of shipbuilding and coal exports to one of the North East's most iconic leisure and cultural destinations.

Historically, the Quayside was Newcastle's economic engine from medieval trade routes to the height of the Industrial Revolution. The riverfront was alive for the movement of goods, steamships and workers. Its warehouses, docks and merchant buildings bore witness to centuries of commerce and progress.

But by the late 20th century, the decline of heavy industry left much of the Quayside derelict. It wasn't until major regeneration projects in the 1990s and 2000s that the area began to come back to life, this time with culture, hospitality and community at its heart.

Today, the Quayside is a striking blend of old and new. Historic architecture stands alongside glass-fronted apartment blocks, art galleries and music venues.

But it's not just buildings that have been reinvented. Each summer, the riverside itself becomes a canvas. NE1’s annual transformation of the Quayside has added a vibrant creative dimension to the area in recent years.

This summer, the centrepiece is a spectacular 90-metre hand-painted mural near Wesley Square, believed to be the largest piece of temporary street art in the UK. Installed by internationally renowned Portuguese artists Halfstudio, the colourful six-metre-wide mural offers a bold and joyful backdrop to Newcastle's riverside life.

Kitty Brown, Marketing and Events Executive, says the mural is “a vibrant, colourful piece of art, which really well complements all of our really vibrant events that we've got going on down there”

Kitty Brown, Marketing and Events Executive, said: “We're delighted to be working with an international artist this year to really transform what used to be just a bus lane. It's the first year as well that we've ever used typography too to kind of transform that area and make it such a vibrant and beautiful space.

“The city is kind of founded around the river as well so we're really proud to kind of showcase and show off the Quayside as it's such an iconic place in Newcastle. We're trying to add more vibrancy, make it a hub of activity and make it a really social place where people want to come down and spend time and just kind of increase that as well.

“We've got a whole range of events happening down on the Quayside this year so it's a great backdrop for all of that. It's a vibrant, colourful piece of art, which really well complements all of our really vibrant events that we've got going on down there. We've got things like our Summer in the City programme, which is a range of fitness classes, art classes, crafts, kids clubs, all that type of thing.

“We've also got some larger events happening, like the Quayside Carnival, which it's perfect for adding that vibrancy and colour down there for what's going to be a fantastic and fun event. And then also the Dog on the Tyne event, which is a real cool urban event, which, again, I think it complements really well with the kind of street art element.”