How London was built: from Tower Bridge to the South Bank – in pictures
These photographs showing the construction of landmark London buildings and infrastructure projects are taken from Collage: The London Picture Archive, a new website home to more than a quarter of a million images of the UK capital spanning the last 550 years. The site also hosts The London Picture Map, an interactive record of lost buildings and places
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King’s Cross Station, 1862
Construction of the Metropolitan Railway (London’s first tube line) at King’s Cross Station. The framework for the roof arches is in place and the surrounding fence is covered with advertisements. All photographs: London Metropolitan Archives/City of London -
The Crystal Palace, 1852
The reconstruction of The Crystal Palace – originally built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851 – at Sydenham Hill. The building was destroyed by fire in 1936 -
Blackfriars Bridge, 1869
Construction workers pose with equipment -
Blackfriars Bridge, 1869
Construction work for the bridge in progress -
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Rotherhithe Tunnel, 1907
Workers pose during the construction of the tunnel -
Rotherhithe Tunnel, 1907
Workers move building materials on rail carts during the construction of the tunnel -
Tower Bridge, 1892
At this point during the construction of the bridge, on 27 June 1892, the upper walkways are complete, connecting the north and south towers. The North Tower masonry and shore span suspension chain are both more advanced than on the south side -
Tower Bridge, 1892
The completed downstream walkway viewed from the south tower -
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South Bank, 1951
Construction work for the Festival of Britain (1951) on the site where the southern tip of Waterloo Bridge now meets the Waterloo Road roundabout. The building on the right in the background is now part of the King’s College London Waterloo Campus -
South Bank, 1956
Development of the South Bank site with the Royal Festival Hall
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