Posts Tagged ‘Savoy’
The Strand in film: a story of change and eternity
Introduction In my earliest posts on Strandlines, I focused heavily on a bastion of Strand history: The Savoy. Over time I diversified my interests and desired to find the more niche and hidden stories of this great viaduct. Unsurprisingly, however, when I decided to look into depictions of the Strand in film over time the…
Read MoreTracing ‘Strand’ Across Land, Language and Time
Today, the name of London’s most recognizable street, the Strand, evokes images of Trafalgar Square’s lions, the iconic Somerset and Bush houses, and, most of all, busied sidewalks alive with Londoners. Those images, while impressive to locals and tourists alike, are tied rather arbitrarily to their street’s name. What brought the name to the place?…
Read MoreMonet’s Pied-à-terre
“I find London lovelier to paint each day” – Claude Monet. Monet’s link to London Monet fell in love with London in 1870-71, while in exile from France, during the Franco-Prussian war. After his return to France he vowed to revisit London, which he did in 1899, 1900 and 1901. In each of these three…
Read MoreA Gondola Party at The Savoy
In 1905, the courtyard of the Savoy hotel was flooded with four feet of water to host the party of American city planner, architect, and millionaire, George Kessler. While probably being one of the most luxurious and ludicrous events to ever occur at a London hotel, and certainly on the Strand, it is rather poorly…
Read MoreThe Strand is ready for Christmas
The Strand is ready for Christmas: thanks to the Northbank Association, strung with stars to brighten the cold skies. Looking along the street, however, is a less starry affair. A theme emerges, of the housed and the unhoused, picked up in the big window display of Coutts Bank, where paper houses press home the point…
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