Changing Face of London, 1960

This film focuses on the clearance of bomb damaged buildings following World War II and the projects and plans to rebuild the capital. The role of the London County Council (LCC), the architects department, its development plan and planning processes all feature. It makes the point that a lot of new development will be high rise and that Londoners will be 'looking up' to see new buildings. New commercial office buildings and the restoration of Wren designed churches in the square mile both feature along with the area around St Paul's Cathedral. New materials and construction techniques are covered, particularly the use of steel, glass and concrete. Models of Elephant and Castle and Crystal Palace Sports Centre are shown along with 'Motopia', an unrealized scheme. New school and college buildings are shown along with housing programs. Date: 1960 Reference No: GLC/DG/PRB/11/015/001 Collection: Greater London Council This film is part of the collections at London Metropolitan Archives, a public research centre which specialises in the history of London. If you haven't visited an archive before, it's a little bit like a library but with one key difference; the majority of items in an archive are unique, handwritten documents which cannot be seen anywhere else. We care for and provide access to the historical archives of businesses, schools, hospitals, charities and all manner of other organisations from the London area. With 100 km of books, maps, photographs, films and documents dating back to 1067 in our strong rooms, we're proud to provide access to one of the finest city archives in the world - you could call it the memory of London. This channel provides highlights from our film and video collections and films which we have created. Find out more at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma and explore our film clips, photographs, maps and prints of London at www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk