The Harp Bar in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter is well known to many for its live music, draught beer and ‘craic’ and is popular amongst both young and old in the city. Originally fitted out in 2013 by McCue, the brief for this project was to transform a disused space next door into an extension of the original Harp Bar, incorporating a number of the client’s historic artefacts into the design in order to maintain the ‘Victorian Belfast’ theme.
The design and finish of the new extension on the ground floor had to reflect the theme of the existing bar. All elements of the current bar had to be replicated for the new bar in this extension.
On the first floor there is a new Horse Shoe Bar which features reclaimed wall panelling from a ship built in Harland and Wolff Shipyard. It also features original maple-spring flooring salvaged from Belfast City Centre’s last ‘Ballroom of Romance’, the 1932 art deco Orpheus Building on York Street. A reclaimed stained glass window, also from the ballroom, is a centre piece of the first floor, Horse Shoe Bar.
A key feature of the new ground floor bar is the bespoke, mosaic floor art that was originally taken from the Orpheus Building and recreated by a specially sourced mosaic artist, as homage to the Orpheus.
There are many other unique artefacts and features in the new bar, the best way to appreciate the craftsmanship of McCue and the heritage of the bar is to pay it a visit when next in Belfast.
