Three large scale models of London that have usually been in three different buildings can currently be seen together in one room.
The largest of the three is the huge scale model of central London, covering roughly zones 1-3 on the travelcard, and is the one that many people will have seen at the Building Centre over the years, or more recently at temporary sites in King’s Cross and Stratford.
There’s also a model that’s always been open to the public, but not many people knew about it, and it was in the old City Centre just around the corner. It was in the basement and on a side road which is probably why it was little seen before, and was mainly there as a promotional tool to attract City investors.
Thanks to the close up scale though, it’s a lot more detailed than the other larger scale models, and many of the intricate details of the buildings are beautifully picked out.
I did wonder if HMS Belfast has been custom made, or is it an Airfix model?
The third model is one that even fewer would have seen, as it comes from Canary Wharf offices promoting the Royal Docks area – and sits roughly half way between the other two in scale.
The huge model of wider London has long been a bit of an attraction luring people through the doors where it’s been displayed to have a closer look — but to have all three large models in one location is quite exciting.
The three models can be found in The London Centre, which is a newly named space next to the City of London’s Guildhall Library.
It’s open Tuesday-Saturday 11am to 5pm and is free to visit.
The entrance is on Aldermanbury – walk around the western side of the Guildhall Yard and look for the London Centre graphics in the windows.
The models are owned by the NLA, which promotes urban architecture in London.
Excellent, I never managed to catch the one near the Guildhall Gallery, as it was a building that liked to be shut. 3 models in one room, I’ll be in heaven
Unless my memory is playing tricks, I recall a large model of London in the basement at the old City Hall (before they moved to Docklands). Was that a fourth model, or is it one of the three discussed above?
There was a huge A-Z style map printed onto the floor but I don’t recall an actual model being there.
Hi Ian, you’re right. It was just a 2D A-Z map in the centre of the floor in the central basement at the bottom of the spiral ramp to reach that level.