Where in North/Central London did I see a model of London?

October 5, 2009 6:48 AM

Where in London, UK did I see a "model village"-style map of the city centre? In a building near Bloomsbury, it was pretty big (something like 2x3m) and at ground level just inside a private building's glass front wall. It was astonishingly detailed, with all the buildings in a few square miles of central London represented as scale models.

I saw this fantastic map/model of central London late one night. Unfortunately I saw it while walking away after an evening at the pub, so my memories of the place are frustratingly vague. Here's what I can remember:

I was walking away from ULU (here; Gower Street, near Russel Square / Euston Square Tube) and heading (very) roughly southwest. I was following a friend and I don't know those roads well, so it's possible we took an indirect route. We saw it after walking for about 5 minutes.

The map was at floor level in the entrance/reception of an office building. It was placed to be looked down on from the reception or from the pavement through the reception's glass front wall.

The base was roughly 3x2 meters and flat. Part of the Thames was represented, presumably painted on.

The area covered was something like Westminster - Mile End (West-East) and King's Cross - Southwark (North - South). I remember thinking that it roughly covered the City (as opposed to the city).

All the buildings in that area were modeled, with the streets I could identify tallying with my mental map of the city. I think -- but can't swear -- that the vast majority of buildings were plain white boxes, with larger buildings and landmarks (bridges, Wetminster Palace, etc) represented in more detail and colour.

It wasn't a new feature: the friend I was walking with (who has since left the country and is uncontactable at the moment) was surprised that I hadn't seen it before. It can't be too famous though, as the other people I've asked have never heard of it.

Have you seen this model/map near Bloomsbury? Do you know of any businesses nearby (architects? cartographers?) that are likely to have such a display in their window?

posted by metaBugs to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

Is it this?
posted by wackybrit at 6:52 AM on October 5

At the Building Centre? (Same place, different name, I think)
posted by Helga-woo at 6:53 AM on October 5

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's it. I'm surprised to see that it's as impressive as I remember; frankly I had assumed that it couldn't possibly be that large and detailed, so my memory must be deceiving me.

The rest of the exhibitions there look pretty interesting too, I'll have to drop in for a look.

Thanks very much, both of you!
posted by metaBugs at 7:08 AM on October 5

Yeah, I live nearby and usually take out-of-towners on a visit here.

The model is incredibly detailed but has odd boundaries - it doesn't really go further West than Hyde Park but to the East it goes out past London City Airport. North is not much farther than Euston station and South is just beyond Southwark.

Most buildings are grey but here and there you'll see white buildings. These are buildings under construction.
posted by vacapinta at 8:28 AM on October 5