Where were you in the 90s? Many Brummies could be found queuing outside the Que Club, which saw such legendary names as Carl Cox, the Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Massive Attack, and many more DJs perform under its roof. Sadly, the iconic nightclub has sat empty since 2017, but all’s not lost for the Grade II-listed building.
The former home of the Que nightclub, the Methodist Central Hall, which has stood on Corporation Street since 1904 and is instantly recognisable for its terracotta-brick, Gothic Revival style, has been bought by a US-based non-profit, Civis Foundation, which intends to transform the property into a civic and cultural centre.
In 2018, Birmingham City Council approved the conversion of the Methodist Central Hall into a 150-bed hotel, renamed The Dean Hotel, but those plans seemingly fell through. Just last year, the Victorian Society placed the iconic site on its list of most endangered buildings in the country.
Civis will restore the Hall for performance, exhibitions, education, heritage, hospitality and community events. It will run on what’s called a “public-benefit model”, with revenue from venue hire, hospitality, and events paying for public access, cultural programming, and long-term sustainability.
“Central Hall has stood at the centre of Birmingham for over a century, and it deserves a future as vital as its past,” said Eric Galloway, President of the Civis Foundation. “This is our first project in the UK, hopefully the first of many, and we couldn’t have picked a more fitting home for it.”
