BBC Broadcasting House when brand new (1932)

[Nick Armstrong]

Some fascinating shots on this page:

http://flashbak.com/twenty-five-stunning-pictures-of-bbc-broadcasting-house-in-1932-30877/

Interesting to see an aerial view of the much-lamented Queen's Hall to the right of the fifth photo.

(They should bulldoze the horrible hotel that's there now and construct a New Queen's Hall, reproducing the acoustics of the original, for Sir Simon Denis )

[Gordon]

Thanks for that Cal. Agreed re Queens Hall, a great loss, built 1894 and lost in May 1941. Interesting in photo 5 - the aerial one - that up and slightly left from BH you will see the "new" St James Hall - it's all on its own - also called the New Philharmonic, built 1907 and used for concerts, now an office block.

The "old" St James Hall of 1858 was in Piccadilly and was used for concerts until the Queens Hall opened causing it to decline and was knocked down to build the Piccadilly Hotel. This new St James hall was a one time home of the Methodist West London Mission before they moved into their new home Kingsway Hall in 1912. There is a tradition in London for knocking down concert halls to make way for hotels. Same happened to Kingsway and also Exeter Hall in the Strand [now Strand Palace] which the WLM also used prior to Kingsway

See here - and down its page you'll see a photo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27s_Hall and also here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philharmonic_Hall,_London

[Serial_Apologist]

Fantastic - thanks for posting those, Caliban!

I hadn't realised the building to have been prefabricated. And I would never have taken the view of the Green Room to have been from the early 30s; 1964, from the decor and furnishings, more like.