It was reported earlier this week that after an internet poll a new seven wonders of the world have been announced. They are – Machu Pichu, The Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, Christ the Redeemer statue at Rio, Mayan ruins at Chichin Itza, The Colleseum in Rome and Petra in Jordan. The final one is one place I would really like to visit. Stonehenge in Britain and the Eiffel Tower in Paris both failed to make the final seven.
So I thought I’d invent my own seven wonders. I haven’t nailed the final couple but will start with a building that I just love even though she is very run down and last time I went past looked well beyond her best – Battersea Power Station.
It’s sleek elegant lines just make my heart sing – ahhh. Built in 1939 to provide power for London it was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott who was also responsible for the red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (which I think will also get in my top seven).
It originally only had two towers with one at either end. A mirror image of the original generating plant was built in the fifties giving it its famous four towers. It has had several owners since it stopped producing electricity and as yet no-one has managed to find a suitable use for it. Its final owners are an Irish company that bought it for £400m in 2006. I do hope they manage to redevelop it – it’s too iconic and elegant to be left to decay.
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July 12, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Kev
…and it was the control center for the cybermen.
In a parallel universe, obviously
July 12, 2007 at 3:33 pm
lisavalentine
You are right! and had a pig tethered to it on a Pink Floyd cover.
July 18, 2007 at 8:43 am
Liverpool « CottonKnickersForAfrica
[...] decided on the Cathedral (full name Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool). The young Giles Gilbert Scott, who has already got one building in my seven – Battersea Power Station, won a competition for its [...]
July 20, 2007 at 7:17 am
Seven Wonders « CottonKnickersForAfrica
[...] Battersea Power Station [...]
May 20, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Drierrite
Outstanding page=) hope to definitely come back soon,,
September 21, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Fi
Hi
I love Battersea Power Station & have a special claim to it, my Dad helped in its construction in 1939 & being from the surrounding area in the past. whenever I go home it always makes me smile with its fabulous grandeur & classical lines…. Personally I would like to live in it, appartments perhaps???
November 8, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Louise
How amazing!!! I too completely share your sentiment as my granddad helped build the two towers original – I like to imagine he made tham all by himself and would like to see one of those blue plaques saying so! I wish! Apparently though the towers were build from the inside out and up! Fantastic building and it always gives me a warm feeling when I’m on the train coming into London ”coming home”!
November 11, 2010 at 9:30 pm
isidim tojuf
It is one of the singular most ugly edifices ever constructed, representing a not-too-quickly-enough flight past pre-modernism which, lamentably, is experiencing a comeback by creatively bankrupt schools of architecture determined to make our skylines, as Prince Charles once suggested, look like old radio sets. If you insist on preserving the tacky, you should invite the Mormons to build a temple. At least the tithing will guarantee its upkeep.
November 8, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Louise
You really lack class and appreciation for a style of a classical age. This is a Britsh icon and should be treated with respect. This is a truly iconic landmark for a number of reasons – consider this, during the continued onslaught of the Blitz in the second world war, the Germans tried repeatedly to bomb BPS as this was a key target – had they suceeded, then London would have falle. But NO, Battersea and its people held their heads high like a victorius V sign. To insult this amazing building, insults the best of London and true British spirit. If you don’t like it, then don’t comment. How you can remark that this is ‘tacky’ is hilarious – I suggest you look up the meaning of the word before posting such ignorant comments.
April 13, 2011 at 5:41 pm
John Guthrie
I used to live near the station and I loved it’s symbolic strength, which historically had a meaning to the people of London…as they lived through many years of tough times.
May 5, 2011 at 5:30 am
John Reel
I find it very pleasing to the eye, the iconic PINK FLOYD ANIMALS photo certainly put it on the map for the world which is how I came to be aware of it. So many “landmarks” are scuttled here in LA and it is painful, but most Brits certainly have a proper affinity for history and I hope that place thrives. Now, if someone could only get a photo of a Spitfire banking through those stacks…