Back From the Brink is a gorgeous coffee table book and important historical document that traces the history of the Observer Building, describing how the cycle of neglect that plagued it was finally broken.
Carved into the White Rock cliff face in 1924 for FJ Parsons’ printworks, the spectacular six-storey Observer Building with its imposing glazed-tile facade, massive teak entrance, and fully equipped offices, was the height of modernism. For 50 years it was the heart of a thriving newspaper business and a hive of industry as editors, journalists, compositors, lithographers and graphic artists put together a range of publications, printed on heavy machinery and distributed throughout Hastings and the South East. In 1984, the printworks fell silent as a result of technological and other changes. This iconic building was abandoned, becoming the rotting heart of a declining neighbourhood. It changes hands constantly but while ‘investors’ made profits, the building became increasingly derelict. When demolition loomed in 2006, community activists took to the streets to save it. Opened temporarily in 2016 as a creative arts venue, it was not until 2019 that the building was finally purchased and rescued by Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures, a locally-rooted social enterprise developer.