Friday 6 June 2008

Battersea Power Station - Gilbert Scott et al

                      WA3189318~Battersea-Power-Station-Lit-up-at-Night-1951-Posters

Gilbert Scott's magnificent Battersea Power Station on the banks of the Thames.  Dubbed the Cathedral of Power, and captured here in its pomp in 1951, it is sadly now known chiefly only as a prop for a third rate rock band.

5 comments:

The Tomahawk Kid said...

ooooooo! That's a bit harsh!
Why is Pink Floyd a 3rd-rate rock band?

I am not particularly a big fan (anymore) but the albums Dark Side of the Moon, and Meddle, and even the wall, are great pieces of work!
- You're just an ex uncultured PUNK :-)
- THAT is why!

But we DO agree on one thing in this post - Doesn't that look magnificent!

Peter Cresswell said...

Yes, you're right. Third-rate is too generous. :-)

And yes, I am am uncultured ex punk. Or is that an ex uncultured punk? (Or both?)

Dave Mann said...

That's approximately the view I saw many nights as I grew up right there in Battersea. Most of the time I remember it being lit up and it was a real landmark as we raced our motorbikes up and down Queenstown Road at night from the pie cart down the bottom, past the park gates to the crest of the bridge for a U-turn above the river and back again.

If I had known it was a cathedral, of course I would have stopped to admire it more... but as it was I was concentrating more on my speedo and wondering if I was impressing Patricia down at the pie cart. Ahh.. Patricia... she was a real cathedral (and maybe a power staion too.... but I never got to fully find that out) :-)

Clunking Fist said...

I worked in Battersea, right by the bridge in the lump of gall refered to as "Glassmill". Only really glimpsed Battersea power station in the distance as the number 19 crossed the bridge (prior to the recent construction which I think will have obliterated the view).

Do you have any similar photos of the Bankside power station, now Tate Modern?

Waymad said...

I had a look all around it 18 months ago - was in London for a work jaunt, and there was an exhibition of Chinese contemporary art on there - first time the show's been open to the public for twenty-odd years. The art was relatively forgettable (even though some was excellent) - it simply was dwarfed by its surroundings.

Still some marble tiling in the West Turbine Hall (the earlier one) and even in its roofless, decayed state, the complex was still an absolute monument to industry.

Happy memories - it was to be demolished and rebuilt by a Korean magnate, as an entertainment complex....