Back in the Smoke today, along the South Bank for a meeting.
The daily changes of London sometimes sneak up and it's when I'm with someone from out of town that I notice it more. Along the lines of "Gosh, isn't the Shard tall?" or similar comments.
The Shard's restaurant has just opened, but my main picture today is of the new configuration as the Cheesegrater and the Walkie Talkie building start to mask some of the views of the Gherkin.
For many years, the old Nat West Tower (Tower 42) dominated this part of the skyline, but then the Gherkin appeared and a few other buildings were chopped down to make room for a new series of taller blocks.
The above picture is one I took a few years ago, when an area on the edge of the City was being flattened.
There's similar re-developments across the river in the mainly low-rise area around Nine Elms now, with the planned arrival of the new American Embassy zone and already there's a couple of new tower blocks well under way, just along from the site being cleared for the Americans.
I sense a few more Shard-like structures are emerging.
2 comments:
I know this is all supposed to be PROGRESS, but....It seems as if London, like New York, is over-building....Or, maybe it's just me.
I like all your names for these buildings....!
Naomi There's still plenty of Ye Olde London as well, and quite a few of the new big buildings were put down at Canary Wharf, a kind of new downtown area created about 20 years ago.
The names of the buildings are the Londoner names as these various structures go up. For example "30 St Mary Axe" is the Gherkin, but everyone knows it by the latter name.
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