Gateshead puts 'Get Carter' car park on the cultural map

The multi-storey car park from which Michael Caine threw a man to his death in the 1970 gangster movie Get Carter is to become an official part of the tourist trail in the North-east of England.

Gateshead Civic Trust has included the building, known locally as the Carter car park, in a list of places of "special cultural interest" to be visited in a series of open days.

Fans of the film will be given a tour of the disused building by guides from Gateshead council.

Get Carter, with its bleak subject and claustrophobic cinematography, starred Caine as a London gangster, Jack Carter, who returns to his Newcastle home to investigate the death of his brother. He wreaks revenge on those he believes hurt his family, throwing the man he blames for introducing a female relative to pornographic film roles from the top of the car park.

Fans of Get Carter, directed by Mike Hodges, may have only a year to visit the car park before it is demolished to make way for a shopping centre.

Chris Riley, of the Get Carter Appreciation Society, said: "It is a unique building, unusual and ugly, but it is part of the personality of Gateshead now."

The Gateshead open days, between 13 and 16 September, also include the Millennium Bridge , Baltic arts centre and the Victorian Saltwell Park.