Sunday, October 20, 2024

London Bridge


Well, I was wrong about the weather yesterday. It was rainy in the morning, but just before lunchtime the sun came out and the afternoon was beautiful. As you can see from the photo above, showing Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast on the Thames, I decided to go on a little excursion.

Blogger Jeanie, who you'll recall I met up with Wednesday night, brought me some old postcards, because she knows I'm a fan of old ephemera like that. She forgot to give them to me on Wednesday but she left them in an envelope at the front desk of her hotel, where I picked them up a day or two later. They were mostly American but thrown into the mix was this:


That is a view of London Bridge meant to be seen through a stereoscopic viewer, which would in theory give it a three-dimensional perspective. It was sold by Montgomery Ward, so it had probably not actually come from London, but was instead a way for Americans to "see the world" without traveling in an era when travel was difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

I tried to figure out how old the picture is. The same card is available on Wikimedia, dated circa 1895-1900. Another very similar image, also said to be from a stereopticon card and probably taken by the same photographer -- is dated "early 1890s." (They look like the same picture but the arrangement of the pedestrians is different, so they must have been different exposures.)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go down to London Bridge and compare the view to see what it looks like now.


And here's the answer. I couldn't get the same altitude as the photographer of the stereoscopic image -- maybe he was shooting out a window or from a rooftop? But you get the idea.

In the old photo, across the river you can see the Monument, and immediately to its right the steeple of the church of St. Magnus the Martyr, and then farther to the right another church spire. None of that is visible now, having been hemmed in by more modern buildings. (Maybe the top of the Monument or the St. Magnus church spire would still be visible if that building on the riverfront wasn't covered in white scaffolding, or if I could attain the card photographer's elevated perspective -- I'm not sure.)

And of course the bridge itself is also different, the old one having been famously "falling down," sold to an American oil tycoon, and moved to Lake Havasu, Arizona. Here's the full story on that, according to a BBC article from just a few days ago.


I walked across the bridge thinking I might go up in the Monument, which I've never done. But alas, it was closed. It commemorates the Great Fire of London in 1666. Instead I settled for having coffee and a cookie while sitting beneath it on the plaza.


I tried to figure out what church is visible on the right in the old photo, and I eventually settled on this one -- The Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens. Like the Monument, it has been overshadowed by more modern buildings including the "walkie-talkie," at left.

Anyway, it was a fun day out and a good way to experience a sunny afternoon!

21 comments:

  1. What an interesting afternoon you had! Good that you made the most of the sunshine...just looked at my weather app ( Rain Today) and there is an awful lot of rain heading for us!

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  2. Great shot of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast in excellent light with dramatic clouds behind.

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  3. I love that first shot of the Tower Bridge; gorgeous, and a beautiful day, too.

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  4. Tower bridge is London Bridge? Live and learn. I knew about London Bridge being sold to an American buyer. It was quite scandalous in some quarters -- whatever next?

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    1. No, Tower Bridge can be seen from London Bridge, but they're different bridges. Sorry for the confusion!

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  5. Are you sure you weren't in S. Colorado yesterday? That's exactly how the day started here ... 61°, rain, foggy, and cleared at just before Noon and we had sun and blue skies the rest of the day!
    Today: 67°, extremely foggy this morning, but probably no rain ... I think 🤔 Fall 🍂🍁 has arrived for sure! The leaves are slowly turning colors?
    Will get my ballot 🗳️ filled out today and go drop it in the box tomorrow!!

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  6. I love all these photos. I just realized I was there this time last year. The city has change a lot since that old photo was taken. It seems to have changed a lot every time I visit. You got a great photo of The Monument.

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  7. The Great Fire of 1666.
    My Lord. Sometimes things do put perspective on just how young the US is.
    Sounds like a terrific afternoon. Love the pictures.

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  8. I love it when I see familiar things! I remember reading in 'My Weekly Reader' about London Bridge coming to Arizona. It quite impressed me at the time.

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  9. Gorgeous photos, especially that top one!

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  10. What a beautiful first picture, gorgeous shot! I've never been at the current bridge but in 2012 we were at the one in Lake Havasu!
    (http://lifesgood-brigitta.blogspot.com/2012/12/after-rather-boring-week-of-nothing.html)

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  11. When the sun is out, London is truly glorious.

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  12. That's a fascinating project! So much has changed in every modern city although the European and British ones have much more history behind them than most American urban areas. I like the coffee and cookie pivot. :)

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  13. I always find it so interesting to see the old mixed in with the new. My son-in-law came across one of those old stereoscopes and they're really fun to use. Makes me think of my childhood "Viewmaster" 😂 (which I'm pretty sure they still make)

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  14. Well that looks like a glorious day! I love when you go on an excursion.

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  15. What a fun day and beautiful photos. Thanks for trying to get the same view as the stereoscopic postcard. Truly amazing how that view has changed.

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  16. We could have run into you down there... We were down the road at Tower bridge and walked to Leadenhall, the bank of England and around that area! Close, but not close enough!

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  17. The before and after visuals of the bridge and surrounding structures is fascinating.
    The old bridge ending up in Arizona was a total surprise to me.

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  18. It also led you on a complicated tour of old London and knew London.

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