Written and presented by the ever-entertaining Jay Foreman, I’ve rather enjoyed this video about the 1970s motorway-crazed London ‘Ringways’ project that – thankfully – never fully came to life.
A Westway for SW9
Brixton was going to be particularly blighted by one of these proposed ring road schemes, with an elevated motorway planned to tower above Coldharbour Lane – see the proposed plans here.
Although the scheme was eventually abandoned, work on the daunting Barrier Block had already started, which explains why the centre of Brixton ended up with a building that rather looks like a prison.
If you’ve not seen Foreman’s work before, be sure to check out his equally amusing piece on the Northern Line extension that never was.
[London: Roads to nowhere (Independent)]
Related posts:
Brixton – autumnal sunset over Coldharbour Lane
The singular beauty of Southwyck House, aka the Brixton Barrier Block
Brixton pic of the day: Marilyn Manson and the Barrier Block
The Building Centre and its astonishing Pipers Scale Model of central London
A walk around the snowy streets of Brixton, south London, Feb 2012
Brixton freeze continues – town centre photos
The Brixton Barrier Block squirrel and its wire chewing antics: now it’s WAR!
Block the Bridge – Save the NHS protest, Westminster Bridge – photos
If you enoyed this one then you may enjoy our first Unfinished London episode called Northern Heights about an unfinished extension to the Northern Line: