The old Daily Express building on Fleet Street

[Donna Ferentes]

Having been taken, yesterday afternoon, on a tour of Wren's churches in the City of London (my guide the estimable Harold Shand) I have to say that what impressed me as much as anything, splendid though those churches be, was the fantastic old Daily Express building. To my shame I realised that I must have walked past it several times previously (on my way to Shoe Lane library) without even noticing it - I should know better - but I'm impressed now I've seen it properly.

Is there a similar building in Manchester?

 

[editor]

It's a cracker all right!

 

[Wolfie]

...

Is there a similar building in Manchester?

yes

top of Oldham Street - I don't know what it's used for these days, if anything, it's a great building tho'

 

[Funtimefranky]

Who would have thought such a pretty building could produce so much crap.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Anybody who'd ever been in a church?

 

[Belushi]

Its a great building, a friend used to work there. who occupies it now? is it Goldman sachs?

 

[Orangesanlemons]

Yep, Goldman Sachs. My ex used to work there. It's a lovely building.

 

[Crispy]

Yep, Goldman Sachs. My ex used to work there. It's a lovely building.

Plus, it's listed so they can't change the building fabric, so it still says 'Daily Express' all over the foyer

 

[Harold Shand]

They do however seem to have got away with taking the words "Daily Telegraph" from the almost but not quite as good old Daily Telegraph building that they also occupy next door- linked by a very cheap-looking bridge that has humorously been called The Bridge Of Sighs.

How on earth did they do this? The facade of that building must have been listed? Possibly even Grade 2*

 

[dogmatique]

yes

top of Oldham Street - I don't know what it's used for these days, if anything, it's a great building tho'

As far as I know, at least part of it is still used by the Express Group. I worked there and on the building behind it in the late 80's, on the installation of the new German printing presses (which got rid of the old printing presses, hot metal, and printworkers).

The interior was as impressive as the exterior - lots of white and black tiling, and printing presses that looked like they'd stepped out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The offices further up were covered in art deco wood workings - lots of curves, uplighters etc.

Of course all this had to be ripped out in the name of "progress".

Ho hum.

 

[corporate whore]

I went in the Fleet Street building a couple of years ago, though they no longer use the old foyer entrance.

It's tastefully opulent, and extremely peaceful - just the gentle clack of heels on marble. Went to see a guy on the top floor. His office was bigger than my flat..

 

[Streathamite]

I guess one thing you also noticed on fleet st, donna - it's died.
some of the buildings still look amazing, but the last hacks moved out 2 years ago. It's now just another city offices-and-shops thang; utterly soulless

 

[Funtimefranky]

yeah, fleet street is such a waste. It connects Aldwych and St Pauls and is dead as a doornail now. I expected lots of boozers where the hacks used to drink, but it's just one big disappointment.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

I guess one thing you also noticed on fleet st, donna - it's died.
some of the buildings still look amazing, but the last hacks moved out 2 years ago. It's now just another city offices-and-shops thang; utterly soulless

Yeah. In a way that's demonstrated by the fact that I've been walking along it without even realising where I was. Would that have been possible thirty years ago?

On which subject, was the Strand always as crap as it is now?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Other interesting buildings on Fleet Street include that old DC Thomson building with the names of Dundee newspapers all over it, and adjoining it, a Romanian Orthodox Church. I had no idea there was such a religion.

 

[corporate whore]

Ah, Fleet Street's dead alright - sandwich hell.

The pubs are all shit, especially since they ripped the balls out of the Punch Tavern a couple of years ago.

Goldman Sachs owns pretty much all of the north side. This doesn't help.

Anyone seen the sunset tonight, BTW? It's lovely.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Can't see it, it's too dark.

 

[corporate whore]

I can see copper orange sky over Fleet Street, framing St. Brides church.

Really, it's fantastic..

 

[Belushi]

I can see it from my office looking towards highgate, its absolutely gorgeous

 

[Streathamite]

It connects Aldwych and St Pauls

err...no, it runs from strand/aldwych to farringdon rd/st

 

[trashpony]

err...no, it runs from strand/aldwych to farringdon rd/st

Well, strictly speaking, it connects The Strand/Aldwych to Ludgate Hill. Which really is St Pauls I guess. And Farringdon Road crosses it at Ludgate Circus. So you're both right - sort of.

Talking of the hacks - apart from the lovely Dundee paper signs and the Express building, the only remaining trace of them are the memorials inside St Brides - some of which are still pretty current. They still hold journo funerals in there.

Even Reuters have completely abandoned the road now - just us corporate monkeys left

 

[Streathamite]

Yeah. In a way that's demonstrated by the fact that I've been walking along it without even realising where I was. Would that have been possible thirty years ago?

not a chance. I was taken there by a hack mate of me mums in the late 70s. It was clearly in decline even then - only the express and torygraph were major titles there, but Reuters, AP, Thompson's, that scottish lot etc were still there.
the first thing you noticed was the smell; ink plus presses put this unique pong in the air. the pubs were full of sleazy looking types (journoes ALWAYS look like that!) and you couldn't miss the atmosphere of frenzied, hyperactive bustle, everyone talking at each other non-stop.

On which subject, was the Strand always as crap as it is now?

nope - when it had more theatres etc it was more louche and raffish.

 

[Streathamite]

Well, strictly speaking, it connects The Strand/Aldwych to Ludgate Hill. Which really is St Pauls I guess. And Farringdon Road crosses it at Ludgate Circus. So you're both right - sort of.

good 5 min walk up ludgate to st paul's tho'?

 

[trashpony]

good 5 min walk up ludgate to st paul's tho'?

Well yes. But you'd have to walk from Farringdon st/rd too. I assume we're talking about the cathedral here, rather than the tube station btw!

 

[laptop]

Ah yes, the Black Lubyanka

 

[Streathamite]

cathedral or press building?

 

[laptop]

The Express building was known by everyone in the trade as the "Black Lubyanka".

Don't know who coined it... but a necessary response to Beaverbrook's Stalinist management practices and determination that the paper existed to be an anti-Communist propaganda sheet...

The new building is therefore known, less universally, as the Grey Lubyanka.

Edited to add: google # 10 for Grey Lubyanka

urban75 forums - back at work blues - a survivor's guide
got back from my all-too-brief hols yesterday, and now i'm stuck in the grey lubyanka, tap-tap-tappity-tap... but it's alright, because i had an absinth ...
www.urban75.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-87741.html

though this seems to be in one of the Threads that Disappeared

 

[Harold Shand]

I like Fleet Street a lot, even now. Old Fleet Street hacks are like Soho drinking hacks, less interesting than they think they are. Actually, that's unfair on Soho- they had Francis Bacon, someone of genuine talent.

If you ever want to be bored to death, read all about it in Alan Watkins' book "A Short Walk Down Fleet Street". I used to work for an accountants down there, one of these soulless people you all deplore. I can tell you we probably had more characters in our office than most newspapers did.

The hacks were the least important part of the street. We're still left with St Dunstan In The West (the wonderful Romanian church Donna Ferentes talks about), Temple Church (round 12th Century nave), St Brides with its Roman remains, the Express, Telegraph and Reuters buildings, a Lloyds Bank with wonderful tiling, and the Olde Cheshire Cheese. Check out the carving on the mini-Temple Bar thing too.

 

[corporate whore]

That Lloyds Bank Harold Shand mentions is quite a thing - a real throwback.

Am I alone in thinking the Cheshire Cheese is a bit shit?

 

[Streathamite]

Am I alone in thinking the Cheshire Cheese is a bit shit?

nope. overpriced food, attitudinal staff, beer range not good.
decent wines tho'.
there's a better pub across the road.