Oxford Street: Then and Now
For a while now, I've wanted to make my own contribution to the burgeoning collection of London's Then and Now photos. I always thought, that contribution would merely provide the 'Now' shot, but as it happens, my first contribution contains both the 'Then' and 'Now' shots! The 'Then' picture was taken with a disposable camera on my trip to This Sceptred Isle in the summer of 2001. It was my second trip to these parts on my own and by far my favourite vacation till that point. On my earlier solitary visit in the summer of 1999 (aged 15), I don't think I had a camera with me, so the 'Then' photo is certainly one of the earliest that I ever took in my favourite city. When I scanned it a few months ago, I noticed I hadn't labelled the exact location on Oxford Street on the back of it. But thanks to the (privacy-shattering) wonder that is Google Street View (GSV), I was able to pinpoint it to the corner of Poland Street. GSV's image from July 2012 suggested the Burger King on the left had become an outlet for American Apparel, while the road itself had completely changed in character. All the traffic paraphernalia and road markings were gone, even if the narrow street had remained a two-way system. It was also obvious that other things had disappeared, such as the wonderful Routemaster buses and old-styled black cabs in which the passenger door opened as a mirror image to the front door. The 'Now' photo was taken earlier this afternoon, and I even managed to capture both the double-decker that replaced the Routemaster, along with the newer type of black cabs with 'standardised' doors. Funnily enough, it wasn't until 
mrputter pointed out on a recent visit that such a change had occurred to black cab doors, that I even realised such a change had occurred. I just assumed that the old-style cabs still existed, because I was fairly sure they did when I first arrived here (to live permanently) in May 2007. In many ways, the 'Now' photo offers a good example of how much of quirky and 'traditional' London has vanished in such a short time, and within the 21st-century itself. In no way do I expect nostalgia to outweigh traffic considerations, but it would've been nice if the front of double-deckers still looked like Routemasters and black cab passenger doors opened the right way. Here's a black-and-white version of the 'Then' photo. It looks like it could so easily have been taken any number of years before 2001. Even so, London Town remains the best.
(You can click on either picture to view in a larger size.)
July 2001
22 November 2013
This entry was originally posted at http://mcgillianaire.dreamwidth.org/2218794.html.
mrputter pointed out on a recent visit that such a change had occurred to black cab doors, that I even realised such a change had occurred. I just assumed that the old-style cabs still existed, because I was fairly sure they did when I first arrived here (to live permanently) in May 2007. In many ways, the 'Now' photo offers a good example of how much of quirky and 'traditional' London has vanished in such a short time, and within the 21st-century itself. In no way do I expect nostalgia to outweigh traffic considerations, but it would've been nice if the front of double-deckers still looked like Routemasters and black cab passenger doors opened the right way. Here's a black-and-white version of the 'Then' photo. It looks like it could so easily have been taken any number of years before 2001. Even so, London Town remains the best.
(You can click on either picture to view in a larger size.)
July 2001
22 November 2013
This entry was originally posted at http://mcgillianaire.dreamwidth.org/2218794.html.