Brentford: grey scale # 3 - # 08/57

Sometimes "Grey" can look nice (as indeed we discovered when Mrs Sarkozy came to meet the Queen. Never has Grey looked so good on anybody!)

Brentford: grey scale # 2 - # 08/56

"The colour of Grey". The Golden Mile under cloud.

The old canal passes under the road beside the building with the blue glass. Go down the steps and walk along the canal into the old docks and muse over the contrast.

Brentford: grey scale # 1 - # 08/55

Patroling the new buildings on the Golden Mile I suddenly realised that it's all grey! So, for the next few days it's "Brentford: grey scale".

This building started as a rather dull unadorned 1970s Block (in every sense of the word). Recently it has been very cleverly refurbished and upgraded. Suddenly it looks quite nice.

Brentford rising - up on the Golden Mile - # 08/54

By the 1920s the Great West Road, running through the centre of Brentford, was hopelessly congested. A new fast road from London to the west of England was driven through, along the northern edge of the town, and a cluster of magnificent, large Art Deco HQ offices and factory buildings for international companies was built along what had become known as the Golden Mile. In the 1960s the new M4 Motorway to the west was opened, starting at Brentford and even more large modern office blocks were built.

Here is a night view of the recent newer buildings, far less attractive than their Art Deco relatives but using electric light to make up for the shortcomings in style and elegance.

Earlier postings here have shown the some of the Art Deco buildings and a Web search on "The Golden Mile" http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?p=the+Golden+Mile+Brentford&fr=FP-tab-web-t340&ei=UTF-8&meta=vc%3D will tell you more.

The Pyrene Building - re-igniting the fires of the Golden Mile- # 184

Pyrene was a "big name" in fire extinguishers. Today the building stands, preserved but currently awaiting a tenant to use the huge space, in the company of its companions on the "Golden Mile". I had considered showing a detail of the "ram's horn" decoration on the tower, or even using colour to show the detail on the coloured tile doorway, but decided that it's worth seeing the whole thing.

Those who want to see more pictures and get more detailed information on the illustrious past of the "the Golden Mile" on the Great West Rd, might like to start at the comprehensive URL link below. Yesterday, Riz also helped out by mentioning the magnificent Hoover Building, up on the A40, near Hanger Lane.

The "Great Names" that originally occupied these buildings on the Golden Mile have passed into history, often because of unforeseeable commercial disasters or management blunders. This gives us an interesting insight into Power, Glory, Time and Tide. (In the case of Gillette, the production has been moved to Poland, and the "great icon" awaits a new tenant. "Perhaps a hotel?" some say.)

This leads me neatly towards the last image of this mini-series set for tomorrow.


http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2006-02,RNWE:en&q=firestone+building+demolished+great+west+rd