Selected article
|
The London Bridge located at Lake Havasu City, Arizona was original constructed across the River Thames in London by John Rennie to a design by his father and opened in 1831. In the 1960s, the City of London Corporation planned to construct a new London Bridge capable of carrying the loads and volume of modern traffic crossing the River and the bridge was offered for sale. American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch, purchased the bridge for US$2,460,000 for use as a tourist attraction at Lake Havasu.
The bridge was painstakingly disassembled with each stone block receiving a reference number to enable correct reassembly. Re-erection started in 1968 and was completed in 1971 with the stones being erected as a facing around a reinforced concrete structure. (Full article...)
All selected articles
|
Selected biography
|
Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875–1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for his designs of some of the 1920s and 1930s stations on the London Underground, but who was already a distinguished architect before then, notably for his Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries in Belgium and northern France.
Among his early architectural works at the beginning of the 20th century were Bristol Central Library and British Medical Association building in Strand. From the 1920s to the 1940s Holden was architect for numerous projects for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later London Transport. The earliest of Holden's commissions included stations on the southward extension of the Northern line to Morden in 1925-6 and a new company headquarters in 1927-9. The 1930-3 Piccadilly line extensions gave Holden the chance to develop a new type of station. Aiming for a striking and inviting modern appearance, he produced a set of designs based on simple, geometric forms built of brick and concrete. A number of these stations are listed buildings.
Many of Holden's later designs for Underground stations went unrealised or were scaled back because of World War II with only East Finchley representative of a series of stations planned for the cancelled extension of the Northern line to Bushey Heath and with stations on the Central line's extension into east London being scaled back by post-war austerity. Modestly believing that architecture was a joint effort, Holden twice declined the offer of a Knighthood. (Full article...)
All Selected biographies
|
Did you know...
|
- ...that a stuffed puffer fish, a samurai sword, human skulls, breast implants and a lawnmower are amongst items handed into TfL's lost property office during its 75-year existence?
More Did you know...
|
Related portals
|
|
|
Selected pictures
|
-
-
Image 255 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
-
Image 3Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
-
Image 4Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
-
-
Image 6The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
-
Image 7Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
-
Image 8The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
-
Image 9London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
-
Image 10Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
-
Image 11Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
-
Image 12London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
-
Image 13The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
-
Image 14The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
-
Image 15Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
-
Image 16The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
-
Image 17Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
-
Image 18Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
-
-
Image 20Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
-
Image 21Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
-
Image 22Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
-
-
Image 24Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
-
-
Image 26London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
-
Image 27Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
-
Image 28The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
-
Image 29Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
-
Image 30The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
-
Image 31View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
-
Image 32Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
-
Image 33Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
-
Image 34TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
-
-
-
Image 37A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
-
-
Image 39Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
-
Image 40Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
-
Image 41Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
-
-
-
Image 44"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
-
Image 45Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
-
-
Image 47Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
-
-
Image 49Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
All Selected pictures
|
In the news
|
Archive
|
Anniversaries
|
|
|