Paint-Splattered Walls and the Cry of a Tomcat
Take a look Large and Dark.
A rare trip sarf of The River in the environs of The Oxo Tower - somewhere I hadn't been for a very long time and I was quite surprised at how little had changed. The intention was to get a shot of Kings Reach Tower but the low light and rather cramped surroundings made this impossible... so while I rested my laurels on some cafe seating I decided to use of the table as a tripod for this shot.
And Behold - The Bargehouse. On the right here this was formerly the home to the rather curiously named The Museum Of and is now used for various events including a recent innovative rendition of the Rite of Spring .
The history of the whole site is quite intriguing - it was originally a power station for the Post Office (I'm not entirely sure why they needed their own) before coming into the hands of the delightfully named Liebig Extract of Meat Company in the 1920s. The company did some extensive remodelling - introducing the river frontage, demolishing much of what was there before and installing the tower complete with it's OXO motif.
As the story goes, high level advertising was banned (the building was once the second highest commercial building in London) so designing OXO into the tower was a way of getting round this.
As Stanford Wharf the building served this purpose during the height of trade through the London docks - meat would come off barges, pass through the loading bays which are still visible today and into the cold stores behind where it was packed and distributed. However, by the 1970's the site was derelict and it's use was solely as a heliport constructed out of two barges moored in the river.
The saviour of the site was Coin Street Community Builders who set about a £20M programme to make the building into what it is today - a home for a raft of designers and outlets along with bars, cafes and the well known rooftop restaurant (if you go there - opt for the bistro rather than the restaurant).
The bargehouse will become an extension to the retail/design side of the tower's use but I'm guessing this is on hold pending 'ecomonic economic recovery'. In the meantime it retains are rather nice air of decrepitude which I quite enjoy and is a foil for the adjacent tower.
The lighting here wasn't easy and I've cropped off a floodlight which washed out the top of the picture - I think it produces a pleasing result, particularly with the darker shadows on the right.
Enjoy
Paint-Splattered Walls and the Cry of a Tomcat
Take a look Large and Dark.
A rare trip sarf of The River in the environs of The Oxo Tower - somewhere I hadn't been for a very long time and I was quite surprised at how little had changed. The intention was to get a shot of Kings Reach Tower but the low light and rather cramped surroundings made this impossible... so while I rested my laurels on some cafe seating I decided to use of the table as a tripod for this shot.
And Behold - The Bargehouse. On the right here this was formerly the home to the rather curiously named The Museum Of and is now used for various events including a recent innovative rendition of the Rite of Spring .
The history of the whole site is quite intriguing - it was originally a power station for the Post Office (I'm not entirely sure why they needed their own) before coming into the hands of the delightfully named Liebig Extract of Meat Company in the 1920s. The company did some extensive remodelling - introducing the river frontage, demolishing much of what was there before and installing the tower complete with it's OXO motif.
As the story goes, high level advertising was banned (the building was once the second highest commercial building in London) so designing OXO into the tower was a way of getting round this.
As Stanford Wharf the building served this purpose during the height of trade through the London docks - meat would come off barges, pass through the loading bays which are still visible today and into the cold stores behind where it was packed and distributed. However, by the 1970's the site was derelict and it's use was solely as a heliport constructed out of two barges moored in the river.
The saviour of the site was Coin Street Community Builders who set about a £20M programme to make the building into what it is today - a home for a raft of designers and outlets along with bars, cafes and the well known rooftop restaurant (if you go there - opt for the bistro rather than the restaurant).
The bargehouse will become an extension to the retail/design side of the tower's use but I'm guessing this is on hold pending 'ecomonic economic recovery'. In the meantime it retains are rather nice air of decrepitude which I quite enjoy and is a foil for the adjacent tower.
The lighting here wasn't easy and I've cropped off a floodlight which washed out the top of the picture - I think it produces a pleasing result, particularly with the darker shadows on the right.
Enjoy