Trafalgar Square, London In 1960, a woman sits on the steps of the National Gallery and sketches the view. At that time, there was still a road in front of the Gallery. Credit: Photographer unknown From the same position in May 2017. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Liverpool Street Station, London A view of Liverpool Street Station in 1922. The station was opened in 1874 and is one of London’s busiest railway stations, serving the East of England and North London. During World War I (in 1917), a German bombing raid on the station resulted in 162 deaths. Prior to World War II, the station was the destination for the thousands of child refugees arriving from Europe – the Kindertransport. Credit: Photographer unknown From the same vantage point in May 2017. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Stephansplatz, Vienna Taken in 1928, this photograph shows St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, seen from one of the side streets. Credit: Photographer unknown A much more pedestrian-friendly area in December 2018. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Albertinaplatz, Vienna Sometime during the 1960s, a group of people is photographed walking away from the Cafe Mozart in Central Vienna. From the 14th century, the site where the cafe stands was a hospital. During the late 18th century, it was converted into an apartment building and became a cafe in 1825. A century later (in 1929) it became Cafe Mozart, referencing the statue of Mozart that had stood on Albertinaplatz since 1896. The statue remained there until 1945 when it was moved to Burggarten. Graham Greene lived in the Hotel Sacher (just around the corner from the Cafe Mozart) in 1947 and wrote the screenplay for ‘The Third Man’, which featured the cafe. Credit: (c) Vintage Vienna/Rudi Ehrenreich The cafe is still as popular as ever. This photograph was taken in January 2017. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Strand, London Taken in 1940 at the height of the Second World War, this view of Strand in London, looks towards the East from the end of Aldwych. The old Gaiety Theatre can be seen on the left-hand side of the photograph, and the St Mary-le-Strand church stans in the centre of the photograph. There is a war savings poster attached to the front of the theatre. Credit: Photographer unknown The same view in May 2016. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Trafalgar Square, London Buses stand outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in January 1927. The number 29 is headed towards Palmers Green and the bus in front’s destination is Waltham Cross. The Waltham Cross bus is advertising a P. G. Wodehouse play, ‘Good Morning Bill’, which was on at the Duke of York’s Theatre. Credit: Photographer unknown I took this photograph of a deserted Trafalgar Square in late May 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic. The pedestrianised area in front of the National Gallery looks calm with no street performers and tourists. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Liverpool Street Station, London The memorial to the employees of Great Eastern Railway who died in World War I is shown in this 1953 photograph in its original position – in the booking hall. The marble plaque (created by Farmer and Brindley) cost £3,326 and it lists 1,100 names in 11 columns. The inscription above the memorial reads – ‘To the glory of God and in grateful memory of the / Great Eastern Railway staff who in response to the call of their / King and Country, sacrificed their lives during the Great War’.The memorial was unveiled on June 22nd 1922 by Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. Later that day, Wilson was shot on his own doorstep by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He died from his wounds. Credit: Photographer unknown The memorial was relocated to its current position (above the station’s concourse) when the station was renovated in 1990. Other memorials were also relocated to the new position – including that to Captain Charles Fryatt, executed by the Germans in 1916. I took this photograph in January 2017. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Trafalgar Square, London There was a drive-through bank just off Trafalgar Square when this photograph was taken in 1969. Drummonds Bank opened the facility in 1961. Drummonds was founded in 1717 and was one of the oldest of the UK’s financial institutions. Andrew Drummond’s private bank served over 1,500 customers by the time of his death in 1769. In 1924, Royal Bank of Scotland bought Drummonds Bank. Credit: Royal Bank of Scotland The same view in May 2020 with Trafalgar Square in the background.Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
Russell Square, London A photograph of Russell Square – taken in 1955 by Allan Hailstone. Credit: Allan Hailstone The same view in May 2020. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London The British Museum is located in Great Russell Street, in the Bloomsbury area of Central London. The museum houses over 8 million items in its permanent collection – one of the largest and comprehensive in the world. Inside is a showcase of art, culture and human history. Many of the exhibits were obtained at the time of the British Empire and it was the first national museum to be opened to the public.Sir Hans Soane established the museum in 1753, and it opened to the public in 1759. Initially sited in Montagu House on the present site, it has been greatly expanded in the intervening years. The old Montagu House was demolished and the museum was rebuilt. Further reconstruction and expansion occurred in the early 20th century resulting in the building we see today.Credit: Photographer unknown At the end of May 2020, the British Museum’s gates are locked (and have been since March) due to the Coronavirus pandemic.Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)