HENRIETTA PLACE AND YARNHALL STREET OFF BOLTON STREET - PHOTOGRAPHED SEPTEMBER 2025
Henrietta Place is sometimes used as a rat-run connecting North King Street and Henrietta Street and can be dangerous for pedestrians especially at night.
The area around Bolton Street is a focal point for significant urban redevelopment. While many projects are underway, others have stalled, notably the planned hotel at Nos. 21-24. However, after a period of inactivity, construction work has recently resumed on the site. This renewal is particularly poignant, as it stands adjacent to the location of one of Dublin's most tragic building disasters from the 1960s.
The Collapse of 20 Bolton Street
Tragedy struck on 2 June 1963, when the four-storey tenement building at 20 Bolton Street suddenly collapsed. The event resulted in the deaths of two elderly residents, Leo and Mary Maples, and left seven others injured.
A subsequent public inquiry determined the direct cause. The adjoining house was being demolished to make way for a new petrol station, and this work had removed essential lateral support from the tenement. The structure's chimney was already in a precarious state, and a heavy rainstorm on the night of the collapse proved to be the final trigger.
A Catalyst for a City-Wide Housing Crisis
The Bolton Street disaster, tragically followed by another fatal tenement collapse on Fenian Street just ten days later, ignited public outrage and exposed the perilous state of housing in the city. The events created a widespread panic. In the three weeks following the Bolton Street incident, Dublin Corporation received over 1,500 calls concerning unstable buildings. This led to the emergency evacuation of 156 houses and the urgent rehousing of more than 500 families, highlighting a critical moment in Dublin's social and architectural history.
