London - The Strand: Art Deco on the River
on the left: The Adelphi Building, of simple, thin bricked design, is adorned by over-the-top friezes, including elephants and fish. The friezes and the doorway are in Art Deco style. The names of various UK cities are marked around the building.
in the center: The Shell Mex House (80 Strand), was designed in an Art Deco style by Ernest Joseph, a Jewish architect who was a leading designer of synagogue. The current building was completed in 1930–31 on the site of the Cecil Hotel. Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 550,000 sq ft of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and is immediately recognizable from the River Thames by the clocktower positioned on the south side of the building (flanked by two large, hieratic figures at the south corners). The building was for many years the London headquarters of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd for whom it was originally built. In 1975, it became the head office of Shell UK Ltd. Today most of its floors are occupied by companies of Pearson PLC, including Penguin Books.
During WWII, the building became home to the Ministry of Supply which co-ordinated supply of equipment. It was also the home of the "Petroleum Board" which handled the distribution and rationing of petroleum during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940. The building reverted to Shell-Mex and BP Ltd in 1948 with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid 1970's.
on the right: The Savoy Hotel is a five-star hotel found on the Strand. Opened in 1889, it was built in art deco style by Richard D'Oyly Carte. It remains one of London's most prestigious hotels, with 230 rooms. Its name derives from the Savoy Palace which once occupied the site. Its first manager was César Ritz, who later became the founder of The Ritz Hotel. The hotel was designed by T. E. Collcutt.
in the lower left corner: Cleopatra's Needles are a trio of obelisks in London, Paris, and New York City. Each is made of red granite, stands about 21 metres (68 feet) high, weighs about 180 tons and is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Although genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, none has any connection with queen Cleopatra VII. They were originally erected in Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, around 1450 BC. The inscriptions were added about 200 years later by Ramses II to commemorate his military victories. The obelisks were moved to Alexandria and set up in the Caesarium — a temple built by Cleopatra in honor of Mark Antony. The London Needle was presented to the UKm in 1819 by Mehemet Ali, the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. It remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilsonsponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some £10,000.
London - The Strand: Art Deco on the River
on the left: The Adelphi Building, of simple, thin bricked design, is adorned by over-the-top friezes, including elephants and fish. The friezes and the doorway are in Art Deco style. The names of various UK cities are marked around the building.
in the center: The Shell Mex House (80 Strand), was designed in an Art Deco style by Ernest Joseph, a Jewish architect who was a leading designer of synagogue. The current building was completed in 1930–31 on the site of the Cecil Hotel. Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 550,000 sq ft of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and is immediately recognizable from the River Thames by the clocktower positioned on the south side of the building (flanked by two large, hieratic figures at the south corners). The building was for many years the London headquarters of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd for whom it was originally built. In 1975, it became the head office of Shell UK Ltd. Today most of its floors are occupied by companies of Pearson PLC, including Penguin Books.
During WWII, the building became home to the Ministry of Supply which co-ordinated supply of equipment. It was also the home of the "Petroleum Board" which handled the distribution and rationing of petroleum during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940. The building reverted to Shell-Mex and BP Ltd in 1948 with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid 1970's.
on the right: The Savoy Hotel is a five-star hotel found on the Strand. Opened in 1889, it was built in art deco style by Richard D'Oyly Carte. It remains one of London's most prestigious hotels, with 230 rooms. Its name derives from the Savoy Palace which once occupied the site. Its first manager was César Ritz, who later became the founder of The Ritz Hotel. The hotel was designed by T. E. Collcutt.
in the lower left corner: Cleopatra's Needles are a trio of obelisks in London, Paris, and New York City. Each is made of red granite, stands about 21 metres (68 feet) high, weighs about 180 tons and is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Although genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, none has any connection with queen Cleopatra VII. They were originally erected in Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, around 1450 BC. The inscriptions were added about 200 years later by Ramses II to commemorate his military victories. The obelisks were moved to Alexandria and set up in the Caesarium — a temple built by Cleopatra in honor of Mark Antony. The London Needle was presented to the UKm in 1819 by Mehemet Ali, the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. It remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilsonsponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some £10,000.