Top of London
I went to St Pauls for the first time the other day. It was kind of a bummer because it's under a lot of construction, I think because the 300 year anniversary is coming up, and they want it looking spiffy by then. The scaffolding finally came off the outside, so I thought it would be okay. But the entire whispering dome was closed off. No pictures allowed inside, but I did climb all the way to the top of the dome and took some shots out there. It was so windy I thought I was going to fall off, but the views were amazing!
st pauls
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st pauls
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I love St Pauls - in its day it was an imposing site on the landscape and personally I think they should have given it space without building loads of high office blocks all around it so it could still be seen that way. When the whispering gallery is open again you must go - its quite amazing the way it works!
Posted by
Harriet (the fshlady) |
10:29 am, March 02, 2005
Yeah - great photos indeed. Especially as you can see my old office in the middle photo. Bottom left with the gold bits on it!!
Great view from the window we used to have. Now my only views are lots of planes taking off...
Glad you're enjoying town though - top place.
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:19 pm, March 02, 2005
St. Paul's, big deal. Empire State Building has cooler views.
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:40 pm, March 04, 2005
St. Paul's, big deal. Empire State Building has cooler views.
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:40 pm, March 04, 2005
St. Paul's, big deal? I know what you mean. Manhattan's skyline is amazing, unparalleled. London's never been strong on tall buildings. Why? Blame English Heritage. They keep rejecting skyscraper proposals. However, new buildings like the Heron Tower and London Bridge Tower are or will be approved. The latter will be the tallest in Europe when built.
London's strength is...? How about an architectural legacy that spans 2000 years, tall stone buildings from centuries past that swirl round winding streets. Victorian architecture in Marylebone, Bloomsbury, Holborn, Bayswater, Kensington, Paddington, Whitehall, Belgravia is intricate and fascinating without overpowering the senses.
London's other strength (or problem) is its sheer size. It dwarfs NYC - 625 vs. 301 square miles (http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=57 and http://www.hotels-of-london.org/orientation.htm). It's more spread out, contains more parkland than any other city.I've always thought London was more impressive, architecturally, at street level than its skyline.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:44 pm, March 12, 2005