Allow me to set the scene, and a very familiar scene at that.
Walking through Croydon's high street and even down the smaller side streets, which arguably hold the most interesting shops and ventures to be found, you are visually bombarded by the various fonts, images and colours of the shop signs and window displays. This deliberate marketing technique which tries ever so desperately to gain your attention through high contrast and visual noise generates an incredible distraction for the brain, usually resulting in a lack of interest in the happenings above the longitude of the shop signs. Yet above this level is an equally sized area of rich historical context most likely a result of modern business having little to no interest in the goings on at this level, which is actually great news for anyone infused with architecture.
There are many small architectural wonders to be found at this level and unfortunately I do not have time to go through them all and in a way I would not want to either as this action would most likely take the fun out of the discovery itself not just for me but for everyone else. Nevertheless, one section of the High Street deserves individual discussion because of its unique past function and contrast in age and aesthetics to its immediate context. A small section of the Prince's Picture House, an old cinema built in 1921, still sits curiously above the current O2 phone shop boasting its arabic-esque appearance amongst the many contemporary glass-facades of neighbouring buildings, such as that of Pret A Manger. All you have to do is look above the shop signage and immediately you notice the transition of both material and form into a completely different building, in fact on a good day if you open your imagination and block the lower section of your vision with your hand to leave only the arches and onion dome of the tower, you could be anywhere in the world. Although this piece of architecture is obviously copying a form and order that is usually implicated at a far grander scale and lavishness it is still a rare and beautiful thing to have right in the middle of a commercial district in Western Europe.
What is most amusing about these architectural remnants such as the Prince's Picture House is that in the current age we live in it appears we have a longing for this reach back into history, to combine the contemporary with all the warmth of the past, yet quite often it is all right up there already for the taking if we just looked upwards. As it stands however there is a literal and physical line drawn between the functions of today and the character of yesterday, almost everything from shop signage downwards is simply about attraction and profit whilst the upper floors, whatever their appearance may be, is usually considered in physical volume alone. In Croydon there exists a great amount of interesting architecture above street level especially around the Old Town area, but I am not suggesting a complete re-habitation of these elements, just a wider realisation and understanding of its existence to better influence development of the town.
tW
