Albertopolis
Albertopolis is the nickname of an area in South Kensington that is located between Cromwell Road and Kensington Gore and includes numerous cultural and educational sites. It is therefore also called the Museum Mile .
history
The site was acquired by the government commission responsible for the “ Great Exhibition ” of 1851 from the surpluses generated by the exhibition. The name of the Exhibition Road running through the site is reminiscent of this exhibition . Prince Albert was one of the driving forces behind the London Industrial Exhibition and President of the government commission responsible. The term "Albertopolis" seems to have been coined in the 1850s to both honor and mock its role in the cultural life of the Victorian Age . After his death, the term became out of use and the site was generally referred to as South Kensington .
The name "Albertopolis" was revived in the 1960s by building historians . As part of the beginning of the preservation of monuments, the name "Albertopolis" was popularized in order to draw the public's attention to the Victorian building complex, which was threatened with demolition due to the expansion and redevelopment plans of the Imperial College .
Buildings and facilities
- Imperial College London
- Natural History Museum
- Royal Albert Hall
- Royal College of Art
- Royal College of Music
- Royal Geographical Society
- Science Museum
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Albert Memorial
Formerly independent institutions:
- Geological Museum , now part of the Natural History Museum
- Royal School of Mines , now part of Imperial College
No longer existing institutions:
- Royal College of Organists (from 1904 to 1991)
- Royal School of Naval Architecture (from 1864 to 1873)
- Royal School of Needlework (from 1903 to 1987)
- Imperial Institute (from 1893 to 1962)
proof
- FHW Sheppard (Ed.): Survey of London: volume 38: South Kensington Museums Area . Athlone Press for the Greater London Council, 1975
further reading
- John Physick: Albertopolis: The estate of the 1851 Commissioners . In: Chris Brooks (ed.): The Albert Memorial: The Prince Consort national memorial: its history, contexts and conservation . Yale University Press, New Haven (CT) 2000, pp. 308-338, ISBN 0300073119
Web links
- Victoria and Albert Museum walking tour of Albertopolis (English)
- Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (English)
- Albertopolis, online exhibition Architecture and History (English)