We're back in Holborn again this week, with a view looking East down High Holborn itself, towards the City. The earlier image was taken in 1904, when horse-drawn wagons were still a common sight on the streets of London.
Most of the buildings have been replaced - partly because of the heavy bombing sustained by this part of town during WWII. One noticeable exception is the single-storey building to the left of shot. This was formerly the entrance to Chancery Lane Tube station, before it was moved to the junction of Grey's Inn Road, allowing better access. The facade is still there today, but now stands mostly empty. Number 32, at the centre of this block, actually houses an entrance to a significant underground complex - a former Cold War bunker and telecommunications tunnels.
In the distance, the towering spires of the Prudential Building can also be seen in both images. This was built on the site of Furnival's Inn, erstwhile home of Charles Dickens, and was designed by the same architect as the Natural History Museum, Alfred Waterhouse.
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
nothing here to interest you then?