Wet, with ferns growing out of the rainwater gutters, with
the fascia distorted but hopefully not destroyed, a beautiful building
nonetheless. Every building of a similar age carries in its structure and
design a part of the retail history of London. Tottenham Court Road, the main
route north from Oxford Street and the Crossrail hub to the Euston Road, has plenty of potential,
plenty of the specialist shops that attract footfall: furniture and furnishings, electronic, Charlotte Street restaurants to the back of it, as
well as world class hospitals and institutes: University College Hospital is at its northern end.
Treasuring heritage buildings like this one can only help the street succeed in what are transitional times for retailing. This particular
building has an emblem carved into the frieze at the top. I don’t recognize it but
perhaps someone does.
