A car crash on Friday, apparently caused by a couple of joyriders in a stolen Mercedes, demolished the gate at St. Mary's Church in Kilburn. When I walked past on my way home from work that afternoon, this was the scene. The fallen gate has since been removed, the glass swept away and the rubble straightened, but not fully repaired. I hope no one was standing in the vicinity at the time!
Speaking of demolition, our other shocking local news is that this pub, which I've photographed several times, was torn down suddenly and with all its furnishings still inside after the local government rejected plans by a developer to build flats on the site and instead was taking steps to preserve the building. (News articles here and here.) The Westminster government is now trying to figure out how to penalize the owners, but they no doubt don't even live in London (their lawyer is in Tel Aviv) and have no interest in the community. What incredible chutzpah!
I often suggested to Dave and our friend Gordon that we try that pub. Too late now! Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, as they say.
Stuff like this makes my blood boil. If I were the council I would crack down on these people hard. Prohibit them from building anything else in London, ever. Some people are arguing they should be forced to build an exact replica of the pub, but that seems kind of silly. You can't rebuild something like that.
I experienced similar outrage ten years ago when the owners of the Sutton Theater in New York put up scaffolding to do "repair work" and then jackhammered away all the architectural details on the facade, subverting any possibility that preservationists would want to save the building. They promptly tore it down and built a condo tower on the site.
Oh well. Let's close with something happier. How about the cactus in the library where I work, blooming beautifully right now?
A whole lot of people have no respect for the past or for beauty from another era.
ReplyDeleteI do love the cactus, though.
Oh no, that lovely old pub torn down out of what -- spite? I agree with Ms. Moon, people today just have no respect for things. So sad.
ReplyDeleteMy cactus are sort of blooming now, but my amaryllis is going great guns! Flowering plant do brighten up our days!
There are no good developers. None. Dont let anybody tell you differently. Ever.
ReplyDeleteSOP for Houston. That city cares not for history or unique buildings even if they won awards for architecture. it all gets torn down. cause, ya know, there's money to be made.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of destruction makes my blood boil too so I'll move on to a different topic. I LOVE that cactus. It looks beautiful with it's pink blooms. That picture of the church made me think about another old church on Haverstock Hill (or could be Rosslyn Hill) that was looking boarded up and about to be torn down 20 years ago when I was on trip to London. I walked right past it again on my last trip in Nov. of 2013 and it was still there looking much the same but this time with a sign indicating it was being used for meetings and plays. I was surprised to see it still standing.
ReplyDeleteMoney...and spite...bad combination. A sad commentary on life today.
ReplyDeleteI just can not be outraged anymore, I just shake my head and curse quietly...I do that a lot...damn. That plant is so healthy! Mine is a very sad event, needs new post and soil...I feel like a terrible mother...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scoutingny.com/an-art-deco-gem-in-valley-stream/
ReplyDeleteThis building has been kept...nice!