1910 postcard of paddle steamer at Embankment Pier towards Victoria Embankment, Cleopatra's Needle, Waterloo Bridge, London, UK
's 'Lesco Series' card, entitled 'London: Thames Embankment' and likely dating to around 1910. The reverse of the card bears the note: 'The Victoria Embankment: From Westminster Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge. The whole area was reclaimed from the Thames and now forms one of the finest Boulevards in the world. Cleopatra's Needle, an interesting object, is 68 feet high and weighs 180 tons; it was originally brought from Heliopolis, and presented to the Government by Mohammed Ali.' The Victoria Embankment, designed by Joseph Bazalgette, was built 1865-70, to enclose a modern sewer from West London, a cut-and-cover tunnel for the Metropolitan and District Railway and to relieve congestion on the Strand and Fleet Street. The Hotel Cecil, left mid-distance, was built 1890-96. When opened, with 800 rooms, it was the largest hotel in Europe. It was demolished in 1930 and Shell Mex House built on the site. Now known as '80 Strand' the block is occupied a number of companies. The first Waterloo Bridge is seen in the background of the shot. This m long granite bridge had 9 arches, each with a span of , separated by Grecian-Doric stone columns. It was designed by John Rennie. Onward of 1884 the bridge piers suffered subsidence problems, perhaps caused by the new embankment narrowing the river and increasing flow rates. It was demolished by the London County Council and replaced by the box girder bridge of today, opened in 1945. 'Pepys London' is visible on the stern of the paddle steamer. 'Pepys' was built at Greenwich in 1905 for service on the Thames. In 1913 it was sold to a French company at Lyons and re-named 'Ville de Valence'.
Size: 1639px × 1071px
Location: Thames Embankment, from Embankment Pier to Waterloo Bridge, London, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1910, boat, boulevard, bridge, buildings, cecil, city, cleopatra, edwardian, edwardians, embankment, hotel, kingdom, london, monochrome, needle, paddle, people, pier, postcard, river, steamer, thames, transport, uk, united, urban, victoria, view, vintage, water, waterloo
