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Swiss Centre, London
The Swiss Centre was a popular tourist attraction on the edge of Coventry Street, London, at its junction with Leicester Square. The 14 storey building was both a showcase for Switzerland and its products, and a trade and commercial centre that featured a Swiss bank, tourist office, a chocolate and souvenir shop, a Swissair ticket office, a cafe and several Swiss themed restaurants which were located in the basement. It was designed by David Aberdeen and built by John Laing Group, John Laing & Son and Token Construction Company Limited between 1963 and 1966, to include a podium above the shops located at street level, and an 11 storey tower block with office floors, residential spaces, a penthouse, a viewing gallery and a plant room. Over the years the connection with Switzerland faded out: several shops remained vacant, and British souvenir stalls took over the commercial spaces from the late nineties. The building did not fit its purpose anymore nor with the new intended design ...
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Coventry Street
Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary of state to Charles II. The street was constructed in 1681 for entertainment and retail purposes, and acquired a shady character with numerous gambling houses and a reputation for prostitution. This changed during the late 19th century, with the establishment of several music hall outlets including the London Pavilion, the Prince of Wales Theatre and the Trocadero Music Hall. In the 20th century, it became known for its high-traffic restaurants, including the first J. Lyons and Co. and the first premises of the seafood restaurant Scott's. It was also popular for its nightclubs, and was the original location of the Flamingo Club. Geography Coventry Street is one-way for motor traffic, running eastbound. It is around long and runs eas ...
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David Aberdeen
David William du Roi Aberdeen (13 August 1913 – 15 January 1987) was an English architect. In 1948, Aberdeen won an architectural competition to design the new TUC headquarters building in Great Russell Street, London. Staff began to move into the offices in 1956 and the building was officially opened in 1958. Today the building is Grade II* listed. Congress House was officially opened on 27 March 1958 along with the unveiling of the sculpture by Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produce ..., intended as a memorial to the dead trade unionists of both world wars, in the courtyard. It was one of the earliest post-war buildings to be listed at Grade II*, in 1988. As of 2020, it still serves as the TUC's headquarters and is available on a private hire basis fo ...
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John Laing Group
John Laing Group plc is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangements. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until the court approved the acquisition of the company by KKR in September 2021. History The business can trace its roots back to 1848 when James Laing (born in 1816), along with his wife Ann Graham, and some employees whom they had hired, built a house on a plot of land that they had bought for £30 in Cumberland. The £150 proceeds from the first house financed the building of the next two houses on the same plot of land, one of which (Caldew House in Sebergham) was kept by the Laing family to live in. The family and the business later moved near Carlisle. When James Laing died in 1882, his son, John Laing (born in 1842) took ...
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Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester. The square was originally a gentrified residential area, with tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and the artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, becoming a centre for entertainment. Several major theatres were built in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. Leicester Square is the location of nationally significant cinemas such as the Odeon Leicester Square, Empire, Leicester Square, which are often used for film premieres (and the now closed Odeon West End). The nearby Prince Charles Cinema is known for its screenings of cult films and marathon film runs. The ...
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Glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glockenspiel is played by striking the bars with mallets, often made of a hard material such as metal or plastic. Its clear, high-pitched tone is often heard in orchestras, wind ensembles, marching bands, and in popular music. Terminology In German, a carillon is also called a , and in French, the glockenspiel is sometimes called a . It may also be called a () in French, although this term may sometimes be specifically reserved for the keyboard glockenspiel. In Italian, the term () is used. The glockenspiel is sometimes erroneously referred to as a xylophone. The Pixiphone, a type of toy glockenspiel, was one such instrument sold as a xylophone. Range The glockenspiel is limited to the upper register and usually covers about to 3 octa ...
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Smith Of Derby Group
Founded in 1856, the Smith of Derby Group are clockmakers based in Derby, England. Smith of Derby has been in operation continuously under five generations of the Smith family. History John Smith (21 December 1813 - 1886)Horological Institute book review, January 2012
Chris McKay, MBHI, reviews the book 'The Smiths of Derby A Journey Through Time’ for the 'British Horological Journal'
became an apprentice to John Whitehurst in 1827. He went on to be the founder of a new clockmaking company in 1856, first establishing his business in premises at 27 Queen Street in Derby.
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M&M's World
M&M's World (also M&M's or M&M's store) is a retail store that specializes in M&M's, M&M's candy and merchandise. The first location was on the Las Vegas Strip in 1997, with others in Orlando, Florida, New York City, London, Henderson, Nevada,Houck, Jeff. "It's like candy", ''The Tampa Tribune'', 2008-03-12, p. 2. Shanghai, Bloomington, Minnesota and Berlin. Locations Las Vegas The first location opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1997, in the Showcase Mall next to the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand.Will'', 1998-02-08, p. 7. The four-story M&M's World includes a gift shop on the first floor. The shop leads to a 3D movie theater that shows the short subject ''I Lost My M In Vegas''. Also on display are M&M's in nearly every color, and a replica of the No. 18 M&M's race car that is driven in the NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Monster Energy Cup Series by Kyle Busch. M&M's clothing is sold on the second floor and on the stairs that go up to the second floor are pictures showi ...
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The W Hotel
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic ...
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Commercial Buildings Completed In 1966
Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for:) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * Two functional constituencies in elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong: **Commercial (First) **Commercial (Second) * ''Commercial'' (album), a 2009 album by Los Amigos Invisibles * Commercial broadcasting * Commercial style or early Chicago school, an American architectural style * Commercial Drive, Vancouver, a road in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada * Commercial Township, New Jersey, in Cumberland County, New Jersey See also * * Comercial (other), Spanish and Portuguese word for the same thing * Commercialism Commercialism is the application of both manufacturing and consumption towar ...
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Buildings And Structures Demolished In 2007
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term ''building'' compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the ''outside'' (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic ...
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Demolished Buildings And Structures In London
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for reuse purposes. For small buildings, such as houses, that are only two or three stories high, demolition is a rather simple process. The building is pulled down either manually or mechanically using large hydraulic equipment: elevated work platforms, cranes, excavators or bulldozers. Larger buildings may require the use of a wrecking ball, a heavy weight on a cable that is swung by a crane into the side of the buildings. Wrecking balls are especially effective against masonry, but are less easily controlled and often less efficient than other methods. Newer methods may use rotational hydraulic shears and silenced rock-breakers attached to excavators to cut or break thro ...
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Former Buildings And Structures In The City Of Westminster
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the finished structure, as in an aircraft fuselage, or it may be removable, being using in the construction process and then discarded or re-used. Aircraft formers Formers are used in the construction of aircraft fuselage, of which a typical fuselage has a series from the nose to the empennage, typically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The primary purpose of formers is to establish the shape of the fuselage and reduce the column length of stringers to prevent instability. Formers are typically attached to longerons, which support the skin of the aircraft. The "former-and-longeron" technique (also called stations and stringers) was adopted from boat construction, and was typical of light aircraft built until the ad ...
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