Saturday 10 August 2013

62 Trafalgar Square WC2

This pair of panels show an ocean liner plowing the Atlantic heading for Canada and a locomotive thundering through the mighty Rockies, images of the latest technology in 1903 when the building was erected.
They look charmingly retro today. The loco with its cowcatcher is so Wild West. The liner is flying a couple of jib sails which must have been a bit antique even then.
The building was, of course, the London showroom and booking office for the Canadian Pacific Railway, which then not only operated the iconic line that united a nation but also had liners to take you there and hotels to put you up when you arrived - an integrated transport system. 
The block is now converted into flats and the penthouse has a terrace behind the parapet from which the owners can revel in one of London's iconic views, taking in Nelson's Column, St Martin in the Fields and the National Gallery. Or they can just sneer at the heaving mass of tourists below.
Currently (2013) it is for sale at just £17 million.

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