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
Blue Peter Garden The original garden, adjacent to Television Centre, was designed by Percy Thrower in 1974. Dimco Buildings The Dimco Buildings housed the earliest (extant) example of an electricity generating station built for the London Underground. Franco-British Exhibition In 1908, the Franco-British Exhibition was constructed over a 140-acre site at White City in London. Loftus Road stadium Loftus Road Stadium is a football stadium in Shepherd’s Bush and home to Queens Park Rangers. Old Oak Farm Old Oak Farm, by the end of its existence, was a notable stud farm and also housed kennels. Television Centre Television Centre is a complex in White City that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. White City Place White City Place is the name given to the collection of buildings formerly known as BBC Media Village. White City Place White City Place is a collection of buildings previously known as BBC Media Village. White City Stadium White City Stadium was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, and hosted the finish of the first modern marathon. Ariel Way, W12 Ariel Way connects White City bus station with Shephard’s Bush. Bard Road, W10 Bard Road lies in the area of London W10 near to Latimer Road station. Calverley Street, W10 Calverley Street, one of the lost streets of W10 is now underneath a motorway slip road. Darfield Way, W10 Darfield Way, in the Latimer Road area, was built over a number of older streets as the Westway was built. 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. East Mews, W10 East Mews was lost when the Westway was built. It lies partially under the modern Darfield Way. Manchester Road, W10 Manchester Road is one of the lost streets of North Kensington, now buried beneath a roundabout. Pring Street, W10 The unusually-named Pring Street was situated between Bard Road and Latimer Road. Walmer Road, W10 Walmer Road is the great lost road of North Kensington, obliterated under Westway. 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 tube 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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