The Gallery, this week it’s a return theme – black and white, my last entry for black and white was a bit of a ‘downer’. This, I hope, is more up-beat.
I have a big box of old photos and while I was sorting through it for another Gallery entry, I stumbled across some forgotten black and white photos.
I grew up in the London suburbs and in my early teens I discovered that a short train ride away was a completely different life; the West End of London. I’d catch a train and spend the day wandering the streets of Covent Garden and Soho, browsing shops, looking at buildings, people watching.
I had a little camera which took proper rolls of film and I brought some black and white film. I’m not sure why but I took a photos of shops. I’m sharing of some of those photos, over the last few days I’ve been searching these same streets via Google Street view and matching up the places.
These first two are Neal Street, in Covent Garden. It used to be a collection of old cafes and independent stores, very much a back street. It’s still a bit ‘different’ but the stores are chains or global concerns. The Coppershop is now the Crocs store.
The Monmouth Coffee house still exists but I can’t imagine you’d leave your bike just propped outside.
I love this one, it’s now the Seven Dials Hotel on Monmouth Street, the shop front is still there, repainted and renamed.
I’m not sure Zwemmer’s exists on this site, but I love the guy in the photo as he is very ‘of the time’.
This is Brewer Street in Soho, it used to be a bit of a dive. Essentially, this is still there in ‘look’ but it’s not longer a delicatessen it’s now a cafe.
This is my favourite, it’s the Bead Shop now, I guess an independent record shop didn’t stand much chance of survival.
I love my collection of black and white photos, they remind me of my youth, not that long ago, but a world away. Independent stores are almost a novelty now, in battle with huge chains. High Streets are more often a thoroughfare of chain stores, stores in a corporate mould, identical from town to town and I wonder how last week’s events will impact on the look of our shops in the future? (Oh dear, is that a bit of a ‘downer’?).
Now pop over to Tara’s blog and catch up with everyone else’s take on Black and White.
I love looking at photos of what towns used to look like, I haven’t been there so don’t know how it looks now but they will be great to keep for future generations. I have never thought of taking photos of shops and high streets but it is a good idea, although the place I live now is far from photogenic!
x
Gemma, they are fantastic! I was on Monmouth Street last week and saw Monmouth Coffee House ( Hubby is always going on about how great it is ).
How amazing that you can match the old photos to what is there now.
Dude you is showing your age….
Beautiful photos though x
Great photo’s and doesn’t life seem so much simpler then?
Wow – so cool. What a fabulous collection to have. x
I too used to spend weekends & hols wandering round Covent Garden in my teens. Took my own children there for the first time a couple of weeks ago. And boy did I notice the change! Lovely to see these pictures
)
I mean I know you’re cracking on a bit G but … whoa! I kid I kid!!!!
Beautiful pictures – bit of a talented bugger aren’t ya?! x
Wow – great collection of photos!
Love old black and White photos and these are just amazing xx
Brilliant. I know all of those streets – I’ve spent many a happy hour in Neal’s Yard Dairy. Great to look back at what they were before what they are. Great collection.
These are lovely! Takes me back to when life was so much simpler!
Really like some of those. If it wasn’t for the no entry sign in the first one it could have been dated any number of years ago. Or the Hovis boy might cycle past
What gorgeous photos, I love the way that they look like they were taken many decades ago but they can’t have been, can they? I mean, I remember shops like that and I’m only… ah, right, 34.
Love seeing bricks in photos, the contrasting shades come out really well.
wow !
SOO many memories there!! We used to shop a lot at Randell and Aubin (the deli) and in fact it is STILL in the sa,e family – its just that they moved with the times and became a takeaway cafe!! There were so many brilliant quirky shops round there, shame it has become global brands and – last time I was there – looked so tatty! Thank you for posting these – brilliant!! X
We’ve been looking through similar pictures of our town recently and it’s amazing just how much can change in a few years! I really enjoyed this post x
Thank you for the trip down memory lane!
) I love Covent Garden, but never got to see these streets like this. Really enjoyed it, and cannot decide which photo is my favourite.
I like seeing old images of how towns used to be and even though I am not familiar with where they are , they are still so wonderful to look at and remember how shops used to look like x
Those are fab photos! I do love little independent shops. There is this fab little toy shop in the village I grew up in and it’s so much nicer than some of the big chain toy shops out there.
Brilliant photos. You really captured the feel of the place. I love the photo of the couple looking at the picture shop.
Wow, they really are good pics. I love seeing stuff like this. I even look out for the remains of adverts that used to be painted onto walls, you can still see a lot of them around.
Love these photos! They actually look older than I’m guessing they are. Would love the high street to still look like this, so much better than what we have now! Nat
Really interesting post and fab pictures. I used to love using black and white rolls of film too, oh how times have changed!
Gorgeous photographs and subject! I enjoyed looking at these.
Love, Love, Love these photo’s! Fantastic shots! x
Lots of fantastic photos there – very atmospheric.
Fab bit of English social history! Well done
Even before I got to the end of your post I was thinking ‘Those are places I’d like to shop!’ It’s so sad that it’s the independent shops that have suffered from these huge multinational corporations. It takes all the enjoyment out of travelling when all the cities look the same.
Thanks for taking us back in time!
What an utterly brilliant collection of photos Gemma – thanks so much for sharing these. Love looking at photos of how things ‘used to be’.
These are such wonderful photos and how clever of you to catch a time and place so effectively. Yours is a thoughtful post that made me think. Nowt wrong with that my dear
Those photos are just amazing. Great black and white shots x