Before the Civic Centre......

Comment by John D on February 20, 2011 at 10:01

My comment was in reply to " How do you get rid of buildings like that. It makes no sense. "
We don't know, but presumably the Fishmongers and Poulterers had no further use for it. To me. it makes no sense to preserve an old building that has outlived its purpose just because it looks old The only reason to do so might be because ( whisper it ) it has architectural merit.

I don't like it :-)

Comment by Hugh on February 20, 2011 at 10:12

The need to balance utility with attractiveness; guess that's probably one of the nubs of town planning innit. I certainly wouldn't promote preservation at any cost. I love modern architecture and I imgaine by 1950 there were fewer fishmongers & poulterers in need of an institution so the building had probably fallen in to disrepair.

Civic architecture in general in Wood Green is probably a subject that warrants a mention. The Civic Centre was a Borough of Wood Green project. Everything else is London Borough of Haringey. The Civic Centre is probably a pass on both utility and attractiveness (just). As for the rest of Wood Green civic architecture - a higgledy-piggledy mish-mash teeter-tottering on the space between Wood Green Tube Station and Cumberland Road - a fail on all counts I think.

 

Comment by Hugh on February 20, 2011 at 14:48

Not sure what one would call that language. It describes a social movement. Perhaps I was being lazy using it and relying on links for an explanation. So forgive me for that.

'Going bumpkin'. Love the phrase. Thank you for that. I guess there must just be certain conversations that hit my bumpkin-button.

Comment by Clive Carter on February 20, 2011 at 18:34

Lest anyone forget, Before the Civic Centre, for one part of the Borough at least, was the Hornsey Town Hall, now Grade II STAR. Architecturally in a different class from these two buildings and especially the unlovely Civic Centre.

Comment by Hugh on February 20, 2011 at 18:48

Here are some pics I took of Hornsey Town Hall a couple of years ago.

Comment by John McMullan on February 20, 2011 at 18:49

I think the Hornsey Town Hall looks a bit nasty and dark from the outside. Certainly out of keeping with the Clock Tower and the rest of the high street. I know the inside is rather fantastic. The Civic Centre is worth keeping on the inside, maybe our kids will learn to love the outside. Personally, I went to school in buildings like that.

Comment by Clive Carter on February 22, 2011 at 18:44

IMO, neither the Victorian building nor the Civic Centre are attractive buildings.

Before the Civic Centre ..., for part of the Borough at least, was a genuinely attractive Civic Centre. It's still with us, even though along with Alexandra Palace, they council tried to flog it off for property development. It was neglected for many years and its called the Hornsey Town Hall, one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the country and more than justifying its listing status of Grade II STAR.

Comment by TTTH on March 9, 2011 at 0:29

Great post.  It's a crying shame at what it's replaced with, not even a modernist building with any historical merit and to make matters worse a civic centre that is due to be pulled down yet again and proposals for an even more hideous carbuncle in the pipeline.

 

On a tangent......did anything happen about the conservation areas in Haringey discussed last year?  Will "the ladder" ever become a conservation area?  Something needs to be done to protect our Victorian terraces from being converted into HMOs/ multiple flats with hideous dormas and uPVC windows??

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