London Open House - Sunday

[london1967]

The second day of London Open House was just as good as the Saturday.

The first stop was a private club in Mayfair, the Lansdowne Club in the 18th century Robert Adam's Lansdowne House (or I should say what is left of it as in the 1930s the front rooms were demolished to make room for a new road and were shipped to America where are now in two museums).


We then went to see John Nash's All Souls' Church near the BBC,

followed by a visit to the Marshall Street baths, a late Victorian swimming pool in Soho that has just reopened. (The swimming pool was great but tour rather boring as we were shown around all the facilities of the health club/gym!) 

After a snack, we went to one of the highlights of the week-end, the Georgian House of St. Barnabas on Greek St. (on the corner of Soho Square).
The house is a charity that dates but also doubles as a members' club.  
It is great with some fantastic stucco work mixed with modern art.



The tour was very informative and everybody there was really welcoming.
 

The last stop was the monumental Methodist Central Hall opposite Westminster Abbey.

We were late to go on a dome tour but we visited the interior and looked out from the terrace used by the BBC to film all the events at the Abbey.



Did you know that the hall was the location of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946? 

Comments

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

Franco - I loved all the photos, but the ones of St. Barnabas & Adrian were especially nice. :>)

Living in a relatively new corner of a relatively new nation, the assemblage of history in cities like London is ... not surprising, exactly but always memorable. Thanks for sharing your tour with us.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Joe! I'm glad you enjoyed them.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

I did not know that the first meeting of the UN General Assembly was over there. Did you know that the UN was founded and charter signed here in San Francisco? (Right outside the Bart/Muni Metro subway station) The consecration service for the UN was held at Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. They have a fresco on the cathedral wall portraying the event.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I remember reading about it in the guidebook. Isn't there also a UN Plaza somewhere near the Opera?

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

UN Plaza is at the civic center Bart Station. It adjoins the large lawn in front of City Hall, which in turn is across Van Ness Avenue from the Opera House and Symphony Hall.

UN Plaza has a brass strip embedded in the stone that marks the place were the UN Charter was signed, much like the 0 meridian at Greenwich. There are also a bit of statuary and rock carvings about.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=un+plaza&sll=37.780145,-122.413616&sspn=0.045044,0.067034&ie=UTF8&hq=un+plaza&hnear=&ll=37.77975,-122.413801&spn=0.001399,0.002095&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.779912,-122.413252&panoid=T1GtD8qQS-mCmgeuhfcBWA&cbp=12,345.751761,,0,3.184972&photoid=pg-JxrwEMxDD1nthB2h-RH9kg

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the info and the link, Tommy.

[notsogreynomad.livejournal.com]

Great Pics!

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Thanks for another "you are there" batch of photos. Sounds like a lurvely day.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

My pleasure!
It was lovely - although I felt rather tired on Monday!

[scream4noreason.livejournal.com]

so, so fabulous. I want to come back to London so, so bad.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Oh, you should!

[nzguy1.livejournal.com]

How lucky you were to be able to visit these great places...are they usually open and you have to pay or are these Open Houses just open for the event? I love all the pics.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

No, most of them are usually closed to the public (when they are open for Open House, they are free).

[bobalone.livejournal.com]

Great photos, and really informative! Thank you for posting them. I'm particularly interested in the Georgian House of St. Barnabas in Soho, and hope to visit there when I'm over in December.

Adrian looks wonderful, and I particularly like the shot of him posing with a cane. Does he use it? I have been debating using one, but feel it will make me look too ancient. Seeing him with one, however, I am forced to reconsider: he looks very sophisticated.

[london1967.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Bob. I am glad you enjoyed them.

I don't know if you'll be able to visit them as most of them are normally closed to the public.

He used it a few days as his arthritis flared up. The cane kind of suits... and he can keep the riff-raff at bay! LOL!

P.S: You wouldn't look ancient at all!!

[tilia-tomentosa.livejournal.com]

Who is that odd-looking man on the green walls? :)

I'm fascinated with the ceiling in the first photo. :)

[london1967.livejournal.com]

I don't know.. they are painting by a Scottish artist, I believe.