Earls Court Exhibition Center
The Earls Court Exhibition Center , or Earls Court for short , in London was a trade fair and event center. It consisted of various multi-purpose halls and was located in the southwest of the city, between Kensington , Chelsea , Hammersmith and Fulham . Originally a track triangle was built over here in the 19th century.
In 2014, the building complex was demolished as part of the implementation of a new development project.
history
When the tracks of the West London Line were connected to those of the District Line in the 19th century , a 6- acre triangle was created between them . Around the turn of the year 1884/1885 John Robinson Whitley, looking for an exhibition area, recognized the surrounding train stations with tracks in three directions as a great advantage of the property.
Whitley was preparing an American exhibition of companies from the United States , but suffered setbacks, then saw the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in Washington, DC , and brought it to Europe. In the first months of 1887, with around 2000 workers, he built a round arena with a covered grandstand in the triangle , a long exhibition hall on the other side of the West London Line and a pleasure garden to the north , all connected by 7 bridges. The first show took place on May 9, 1887, in the presence of the Prince of Wales , and during the five-month guest performance almost 15,000 visitors paid the high admission prices every day. In 1888 Whitley followed up with the Italian Exhibition , in 1890 the French Exhibition , and in 1891 the German Exhibition , but then withdrew because these exhibitions were barely adequate.
Imre Kiralfy soon took on a leading role among Whitley's successors , at whose suggestion a more than 90 m high Ferris wheel (→ London Ferris Wheel ) was erected in the triangle in 1895 , slightly larger than the world's first at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. South Kiralfy built a theater building with the latest stage technology in the hall. In 1906 the Imperial Austrian Exhibition and in 1908 the Franco-British Exhibition took place on the site . The Ferris wheel, from which you could see all the way to Windsor Castle , stood by 1907 . The triangle lay fallow during the First World War and the areas west of the tracks were used for other purposes.
In January 2010, a real estate company bought the complex to build apartment buildings in its place. The controversial project was approved by Mayor Boris Johnson in the summer of 2013 ; the demolition work and restructuring of the site began in 2014. The start of the new construction work was scheduled for 2017.
Earls Court One
In 1935, a group of industrialists began building a hall above the triangle, which at the time was to become the largest event hall in Europe. Its concrete floor could be opened at the push of a button, revealing a large swimming pool that could be covered again in the same way. The cost of building this hall was £ 1.5 million.
On September 1, 1937, the hall was opened with the International Chocolate and Confectionery Exhibition. Over 500,000 visitors came to Earls Court in 1948 for the first British Motor Show after World War II .
Earls Court Two
In 1991 the second hall above the western tracks was completed. The floor space of this hall is 17,000 square meters and cost around 100 million pounds. Earls Court Two was opened by Princess Diana as part of the Motorfair on October 17, 1991 .
Events
A wide range of events took place in Earls Court, including the presentation of the Brit Awards , the MPH Show (one of the largest motorsport exhibitions in Great Britain) and wrestling events.
Sports
In the 2012 Olympics , the competitions were held in volleyball held at Earls Court Exhibition Center, at the 1948 Summer Olympics , the gymnastics , the weightlifting , the rings and the preliminary rounds in boxing .
Concerts
With a capacity for 19,000 spectators, the hall was mainly used for concerts by well-known bands and solo artists, including the following musicians have already played in Earls Court: Coldplay , David Bowie , Deadmau5 , Fleetwood Mac , Foo Fighters , Genesis , George Michael , Iron Maiden , Kylie Minogue , Led Zeppelin , Madonna , Metallica , Morrissey , Muse , Oasis , Paul McCartney , Pink Floyd , Prince , Queen , REM , Radiohead , Red Hot Chili Peppers , Slade , Spice Girls , Stereophonics , Supertramp , The Rolling Stones , U2
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Kensington Square to Earl's Court, Survey of London . Volume 42, 1986, The Kensington Canal, Railways and Related Developments, pp. 322–338 ( Online + , University of London [accessed October 7, 2014]).
- ↑ 19th Century on myearlscourt.com
- ↑ Owner aims to bulldoze Earls Court after Olympics . The Guardian . January 22, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ Earls Court demolition plan approved by Mayor of London . BBC . July 4, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Thousands more homes proposed for 'monstrous' Earl's Court site" ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 12, 2017.
- ↑ Our Story . Earls Court and Olympia Limited. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ British Motor Show: Golden years . In: telegraph.co.uk . July 25, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ↑ London 2012 Olympics venues: Earls Court . In: telegraph.co.uk . February 11, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
Web links
- Official website (English)
Competition venues for the 1948 Summer Olympics
Competition venues for the 2012 Summer Olympics
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 '20 " N , 0 ° 11' 52" W.