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All the United Kingdom England London Battersea Power Station
AO Edited

Battersea Power Station

Pop culture has helped to keep this iconic British building from being destroyed.

London, England

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
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Battersea Power Staion   dearbarbie on Flickr
The coal cranes in front of the station.   Tagishsimon on Wikimedia Commons
The famous Pink Floyd album cover featuring the station.   Jason Hickey on Flickr
Steam coming out of one of the reconstructed chimneys, along with a Light Festival installation.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
One of several information plaques to be found in the shopping center.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
The Turbine Halls’ transformation into a shopping center, practically complete in early 2023.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
One of the plant’s control rooms can still be made out after the transformation.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Crane that’s still a part of the shopping center.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
  Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
  toryface / Atlas Obscura User
Grand Opening weekend  
  jooniur / Atlas Obscura User
  ssherwin77 / Atlas Obscura User
  Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
  linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The massive Battersea Power Station once generated power for a large portion of London, but now the abandoned complex just provides headaches for developers.

Construction on the gigantic building began in 1929 after a great deal of public outcry. The community surrounding the massive build site was concerned that the proposed power station would simply become a smoke-belching eyesore. These concerns were addressed with the installation of a scrubbing system which removed a great deal of the polluting smoke from the emissions, and the appearance of the building was given over to a famed industrial designer. This focus on the complex's design led to the famed Art Deco lines and unmistakable quartet of white smokestacks which make up the exterior of the building. Structurally, the station was built as two identical coal-burning facilities fashioned in the "brick cathedral" style. In fact, the power station remains the largest brick building in England.

The coal-powered stations provided the city of London with power for over 30 years, but by 1983, both of the facilities had ceased operation and the complex was abandoned. With the building idle, talk of demolishing the site quickly began. Luckily, the power station had become an icon in pop culture thanks to its prominent appearance in a number of media from the Beatles film Help! to the cover of Pink Floyd's album Animals. With the culture's eye on the site, it was able to escape destruction a number of times over the years as the building passed from owner to owner, the target of countless projects which would never see completion. Each new owner had a new vision for the abandoned complex from converting it into a theme park to building an eco-dome within its walls, but each and every one ran into some difficulty.

Currently the site is owned by a group of investors who are turning the empty complex into housing units, offices (including Apple's headquarters), shops, and restaurants. 

The Battersea Power Station was also recently recognized by the World Monuments Fund as a site in need of protection and this, hopefully, will power some progress in any revitalization efforts.  

Update: A of 2024, the power station, which has now been developed, houses a shopping centre, along with plenty of cafes and restaurants. In addition, blocks of flats have been built around the outside of the power station. You can even take a lift up to the top of one of the iconic white towers to enjoy an alternative viewpoint of London.

Related Tags

Power Stations Abandoned Industrial Music

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

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Rachel, gmgalasso61, Martin, frankienerini...

  • Rachel
  • gmgalasso61
  • Martin
  • frankienerini
  • rbenn250
  • Xoan
  • mawawi9806
  • Luis Morato
  • ssherwin77
  • linkogecko
  • Fred Cherrygarden
  • jooniur
  • toryface
  • lwhermenau

Published

November 5, 2013

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  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station
  • http://www.wmf.org/project/battersea-power-station
Battersea Power Station
188 Kirtling St
London, England, SW8
United Kingdom
51.481703, -0.144649
Visit Website
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