BUILT to capture trade arriving on trains and ships into Belfast and once a stopover for Laurel and Hardy, another piece of the city's history is being removed from the landscape.
The Midland Hotel, which first opened its doors more than a century ago, was a landmark building in the York Road area of the city.
Located in Whitla Street, it was originally called the Station Hotel due to its proximity to the rail line before it was renamed.
Designed by leading Irish civil engineer Berkeley Deane Wise and officially opened in 1898, it was part of the York Road station reconstruction.
It aimed to attract long-distance sea travellers docking on ships in the nearby harbours as well as passengers arriving into the city on trains.
The hotel was badly damaged in the Luftwaffe raids on Belfast during the Second World War, which also saw the nearby train station offices destroyed.
It was largely rebuilt, incorporating some the original building, and was later reportedly a stopover point for Laurel and Hardy during an Irish tour.
It is believed the legendary comedy double act stayed in the hotel during a visit to the city in 1952 when they performed at the Grand Opera House.
Reports from the time suggest that a barber shop in the same complex claimed to have cut Stan Laurel's hair.
The hotel's popularity began to diminish when plans for an elevated motorway near York Road did not materialise and the area became isolated from the rest of the city.
It was later converted to offices, before being left derelict.
Now decades on, work has begun to demolish the old buildings.
