The other week I spent a few days in Valencia, a city that has managed to preserve it’s old town character and at the same time is known for its stunning modern architecture. I’ve posted some photographs from Valencia on my Paul Melling Photography Facebook page for anyone interesting in seeing some of the buildings.

The Valencia trip did get me thinking about what we have by way of stunning modern buildings in Preston. Manchester and Liverpool have a few good examples but the best I could come up with for Preston was 53 Degrees. I actually like this building because it is a bit different but it’s no match for some of the buildings in the other cities mentioned. Then again Preston hopefully isn’t in the same dire financial state as Valencia – they are still paying the price for the investment in all that stunning architecture.

What 53 Degrees does offer is a good entertainment venue. I’ve attended music and comedy events there in the recent past and am looking forward to seeing Dry The River at 53 Degrees in the next few weeks. There’s certainly something for everyone, it’s not just a student venue and it’s always worth checking their web site to see what is coming up.

The venue cost a relatively small amount to build and while it my not have quite the impact of the Valencia buildings I have tried to capture it in a good light here.

Photo: Nikon D700 16-35mm f8 4sec

Paul Melling [Paul Melling Photography)