In 1908, the Franco-British Exhibition was constructed over a 140-acre site at White City in London.
The ’flip-flap’ and the Elite Garden can be seen here with a bandstand in the foreground.
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Franco-British Exhibition
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Abdale Road, W12 Abdale Road is located near the ’Groves’ area of Shepherd’s Bush. Ariel Way, W12 Ariel Way connects White City bus station with Shephard’s Bush. Blake Close, W10 Blake Close is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. Dalgarno Way, W10 Dalgarno Way is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. Dorando Close, W12 Dorando Close commemorates Dorando Pietri who finished first in the marathon of the 1908 London Olympics but was disqualified for receiving assistance. Goldhawk Road, W12 Goldhawk Road is a main road in West London, which starts at Shepherd’s Bush and runs west. Humber Drive, W10 Humber Drive is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. Lakeside Road, W14 Lakeside Road was built on the site of artificial lakes formed by local brickworks. Manchester Road, W10 Manchester Road is one of the lost streets of North Kensington, now buried beneath a roundabout. Nursery Lane, W10 Nursery Lane is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. Oakworth Road, W10 Oakworth Road dates from the 1920s when a cottage estate was built by the council. Rootes Drive, W10 Rootes Drive is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. Walmer Road, W10 Walmer Road is the great lost road of North Kensington, obliterated under Westway. Webb Close, W10 Webb Close is one of the streets of London in the W10 postal area. White City Close, W12 White City Close was designed as a compact series of two- to four-storey brown-brick terraces enclosing landscaped footways and courts. Wood Lane, W12 Wood Lane runs from Shepherd’s Bush to Wormwood Scrubs and lies wholly in London W12.
White City was the place which defined the modern Marathon.The area now called White City was level arable farmfields until 1908, when it was used as the site of the Franco-British Exhibition and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1909 the exhibition site hosted the Imperial International Exhibition and in 1910, the Japan-British Exhibition. The final two exhibitions to be held there were the Latin-British (1912) and the Anglo-American (1914), which was brought to a premature end by the outbreak of the First World War.
During this period it was known as the Great White City due to the white marble cladding used on the exhibition pavilions, and hence gave its name to this part of Shepherd's Bush.
The White City Stadium was demolished in 1985 to make way for the BBC White City building. Today, the 1908 Olympics are commemorated with a list of athletes inscribed on the side of the BBC Broadcast Centre Building, and the athletics finish line is marked in the paving outside the building.
The Marathon from these London Olympics played an important part in the development of the modern marathon race. In the early years of competitive international sport, the long distance marathon race did not have a standard set distance. The distance run at the first seven Olympics from 1896 to 1920 varied between 40km and 42.75 km. The starting point of the race at the 1908 Olympics was at Windsor Castle creating a distance of 26 miles 385 yards to the finishing line at White City stadium. In 1921 this was adopted as the standard distance.
To house the growing population of Shepherd's Bush, a five-storey housing estate was built in the late 1930s, which also took the name of the White City. Streets were named after countries that had featured in the exhibitions.
White City tune station was opened on 23 November 1947, replacing the earlier
Wood Lane station. Its construction started after 1938 and had been scheduled for completion by 1940, but the Second World War delayed its opening for another seven years.
The architectural design of the station won an award at the Festival of Britain and a commemorative plaque recording this is attached to the building to the left of the main entrance.
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