An update on the renovation of Hornsey Town Hall and the surrounding site

Yesterday I went up to Hornsey Town Hall to see what's happening at the Town Hall site adjacent to Crouch End Broadway. As you can see, there's still a fair bit to do but the future looks good.

I met up with the lovely ladies at the marketing suite, which is housed within the old electricity showrooms building on the left as you face the town hall, and they talked me through what's happening with the 1930s buildings and, after studying a marvellous 3D map of the area (ooh don't you just love a scale model?!), we went for a nose about at the new builds at the rear, accessible via Weston Park.

A collection of residential blocks is being constructed, each named after the architects and sculptors who designed the Town Hall and the gas and electricy showrooms. This space had orginally beein designed for car parking and tradesmen but over the past few decades had become a wasteland littlered with broken deckchairs and the like. 

I was shown a 2-bed flat and a one-bed flat and they are lovely. In fact, if I didn't have so much stuff, such as books, furniture and other guff, I would be rather tempted to move there myself. I only took one pic from the lounge of the 2-bed flat, which faces the town hall, see below

As regards the town hall building itself, I am told it's being renovated to a high standard; cleaning up and restoring the existing parts as much as possible, and replacing with like-for-like where necessary. For instance, the metal window frames throughout have been stripped back and repainted and the glass within them replaced. It's looking great and I can't wait to see the end result. I will be going back for another visit once the construction company says it's safe to do so.

Find out more about Uren's municipal buildings and Arthur Ayres' sculptural pieced here.  

Some of my cards and prints feature Crouch End – a guided walk visiting many of the places in the photographed, plus lots of other interesting items of inderest, will be available soon – pleaese keep an eye on my walking tours here.

The New Adelphi – an Art Deco masterpiece

A magnificent example of Art Deco architecture overlooks the River Thames.
Built in 1936-8 on the site of Adam brothers' original Adelphi this quietly impressive masterpiece with its clean lines and classical detailing still looks almost brand new today.

Today's architects should learn lessons from this efficient and functional yet attractive building and move away from the clip-togther panelled monstrosities that are being constructed as I write this. Though I expect, having shorter shelf lives the new builds are a constant source of revenue... hmmm.
The Adelphi boasts exquisite carvings and motifs at strategic places such as around the doors plus four large sculptures on the corners of the river-facing side each commissioned from less well-known artists of that era including Edward Bainbridge Copnall, Donald Gilbert and Arthur JJ Ayres who is the artist behind these fabulous panels on and adjacent to Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End:

All these Ayres reliefs are available as greeting cards and some can be printed up as larger prints – please enquire

The Adelphi Story here.
The interior of the Adelphi building is just as marvellous as the exterior. See here for more.