{"id":2771,"date":"2010-12-01T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=2771"},"modified":"2010-12-01T15:30:38","modified_gmt":"2010-12-01T15:30:38","slug":"a-trip-to-the-museum-of-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/a-trip-to-the-museum-of-london\/","title":{"rendered":"A trip to the Museum of London"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-01.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the world\u2019s biggest urban history museums, the Museum of London has over two million objects in its collection and holds the largest archaeological archive in Europe.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Opened in 1976 as part of the Barbican Estate, the galleries were laid out in an innovative style which meant that there&#8217;s only one route through the museum, taking you from the prehistoric period to the modern galleries.<\/p>\n<p>The museum enjoyed a \u00a320million redevelopment which was completed in May 2010, so we went back to check out what had\u00a0changed.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-02.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I really liked this collection of old signs by the entrance.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also a\u00a0splendid, if a tad\u00a0pricey, cafe just inside the museum which served some excellent food.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-03.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The second cafe, near the exit.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-04.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-05.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The reconstruction of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vauxhallgardens.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens<\/a> is a fabulous experience.<\/p>\n<p>The pleasure garden was a major attraction in London from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century and consisted of several acres of trees and shrubs with attractive walks and entertainments.<\/p>\n<p>Eighteenth century\u00a0visitors\u00a0might\u00a0expect\u00a0to see tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents, concerts and fireworks and perhaps some hanky panky going on in the darker areas.<\/p>\n<p>In 1749 a rehearsal of Handel&#8217;s Music for the Royal Fireworks attracted an audience of 12,000, with a \u00a0fancy dress party in 1786 bringing in 61,000 revellers.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0entertainment\u00a0could be spectacular too: in 1817, the Battle of Waterloo was re-enacted with 1,000 soldiers participating.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-24.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Vauxhall Gardens by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-06.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-07.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-08.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Brute tamer!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-09.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-12.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My favourite part of the museum has always been the recreation of a Victorian shopping street, with faithful reproductions of offices and shops showing their original fixtures and fittings.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-11.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Old barbers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-13.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-14.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-15.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I felt right at home here.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-16.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Old 1920s sign for the Savoy Grill, and the\u00a0beautifully\u00a0flamboyant\u00a01920s Selfridges lifts.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-17.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-18.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Model of the Skylon\u00a0sculpture\u00a0from\u00a0the 1951 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.architecture.com\/HowWeBuiltBritain\/HistoricalPeriods\/TwentiethCentury\/BuildingANewBritain\/FestivalOfBritainSkylon.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Festival of Britain<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Described as, &#8220;part Zeppelin, part-rocket, part-minaret,&#8221; the 250ft tall sculpture dominated the South Bank and was a much-loved, engineering marvel.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-19.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Into the modern galleries.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-20.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-21.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Grabbing a coffee in the downstairs cafe, near the exit.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-22.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/museum-of-london-23.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to the Museum of London\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leaving the museum. It&#8217;s free so I can&#8217;t recommend it\u00a0enough!<\/p>\n<p>[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.museumoflondon.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Museum of London<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the world\u2019s biggest urban history museums, the Museum of London has over two million objects in its collection and holds the largest archaeological archive in Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194,193],"tags":[10,51],"class_list":["post-2771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-london-features","category-places","tag-london","tag-museum"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/museum-of-london-01.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-IH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2771"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2773,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions\/2773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}