Post by janskjaer on Sept 13, 2011 10:20:15 GMT -5
I started a new software engineering job in Leeds about 6 weeks ago. It's a great job, nice people, but an even better location to work! Really quiet, tranquil, lots of nice old-style mill buildings around, an area that's sadly under lots of renovation (I prefer the old, dilapidated and tired look to the area ;D). Nice places to sit outside by the river and eat your lunch. I just absolutely love this small forgotten part of the city.
However, I couldn't help but feel that there was something strangely familiar about this place. On my way to work every morning, it would somehow feel like I'd seen this all before.
Just before I turn the corner to go into the car park and entrance way to my new place of work, I see this old-style industrial-looking building stood on the corner of Water Lane. I've seen images of this building before but from where? Why would I know it?
Fighting with the sensation of Deja Vu, I did a little research into this area and why I know it ... and I guessed correctly.
97 Water Lane was the former location of Software Refinery:
web.archive.org/web/19981201233813/http://www.refinery.co.uk/contact.html
In the good 'ol days, I remember SR used to have a live webcam that was set up across the street, that pointed onto their building on the corner. I remember regularly checking this webcam feed from their website.
(The initial reason was because I applied to SR to do a 2 week work placement in 1998, as I was still in secondary school at the time and needed to find a job as part of our school curriculum, but that's another story ...)
The angle is unmistakable. On the building across the street, you can still see the remains of the webcams shell, perched on top of the now-abandoned building.
I work just around the corner, about 50 metres away. It's 30 seconds from my building to Software Refinery :-)
It seems strange walking past this building every day, knowing who was once in there and what they gave us.
The building itself is now a housing for smaller multimedia-type companies and other sorts inside. SR must have once letted one of the office spaces inside, or who knows, maybe even the entire building.
I'll be sure to go in and speak to someone who possibly still works for the upkeep of the building, who may remember the company and which part of the building they rented out.
However, I couldn't help but feel that there was something strangely familiar about this place. On my way to work every morning, it would somehow feel like I'd seen this all before.
Just before I turn the corner to go into the car park and entrance way to my new place of work, I see this old-style industrial-looking building stood on the corner of Water Lane. I've seen images of this building before but from where? Why would I know it?
Fighting with the sensation of Deja Vu, I did a little research into this area and why I know it ... and I guessed correctly.
97 Water Lane was the former location of Software Refinery:
web.archive.org/web/19981201233813/http://www.refinery.co.uk/contact.html
In the good 'ol days, I remember SR used to have a live webcam that was set up across the street, that pointed onto their building on the corner. I remember regularly checking this webcam feed from their website.
(The initial reason was because I applied to SR to do a 2 week work placement in 1998, as I was still in secondary school at the time and needed to find a job as part of our school curriculum, but that's another story ...)
The angle is unmistakable. On the building across the street, you can still see the remains of the webcams shell, perched on top of the now-abandoned building.
I work just around the corner, about 50 metres away. It's 30 seconds from my building to Software Refinery :-)
It seems strange walking past this building every day, knowing who was once in there and what they gave us.
The building itself is now a housing for smaller multimedia-type companies and other sorts inside. SR must have once letted one of the office spaces inside, or who knows, maybe even the entire building.
I'll be sure to go in and speak to someone who possibly still works for the upkeep of the building, who may remember the company and which part of the building they rented out.
