Barbican, Plymouth

[citation needed] However, many old and significant buildings were demolished during the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, which had decayed into unsanitary and heavily overcrowded slum tenements following the removal of wealthy merchant landowners to country estates and the subdivision of 'Golden Era' Elizabethan properties which had once been grand, reflecting the wealth and prosperity of the city at the time.

[3] Places of interest include the National Marine Aquarium (technically in Coxside) which is one of the larger aquaria in Britain and has one of the deepest tanks in Europe; the Elizabethan House, an old house built in the early 16th century, now used as a museum; the Mayflower Steps near where the Pilgrims finally set off in the Mayflower for the New World in 1620, which is described in the nearby visitors' centre; and the studio gallery of the late painter and eccentric Robert Lenkiewicz, who lived and worked on the Barbican for many years deriving much of his inspiration and income from the local community.

[citation needed] The promenade of the Parade, shown above, paved with the traditional granite setts, is now filled by seating in glass-sided enclosures with large square umbrellas and infra-red heaters providing all-weather space.

The harbour was enclosed by a lock in 1993, designed both to provide a constant adequate depth of water for fishing and pleasure craft and to reduce the risk of flood damage being caused to low-lying property.

This has mostly involved the building of distinctive modern style waterside blocks of flats which have prevented the realisation of David Mackay's plan for a seafront 'gateway' from Sutton Pool into the city centre which would have required the clearing of many of the few remaining historical streets and the redevelopment of Bretonside Bus Station.