A beacon on the London skyline, the Battersea Power Station is an icon of Britain's industrial heritage. Like Che Guevara's face, you will find the structure on everything&mdashfrom postcards and t-shirts to phone covers and Olympics pin badges. This piece of history&mdashwhich was shut down and existed as a decommissioned Grade II listed coal-fired power station for decades&mdashhas been transformed into a complex of commercial, retail, and public spaces.
Here's why it should be on your must-see list when you visit London next.
One of London's most iconic buildings, the Battersea Power Station has quite a history. It was designed by the same architect who was responsible for Britain&rsquos red telephone boxes, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.
The structure has been featured in several platforms of popular culture, including TV shows, music albums, video games, and films. Fans will remember it from its appearance in the 1936 film Sabotage. Pink Floyd fans will have seen it in the cover photograph of Pink Floyd's 1977 album, Animals.
The revamped structure, which will be unveiled on October 14, will have places to eat, drink, shop, work, and play. With over 100 shops, bars, restaurants, leisure and entertainment venues plus a year-round calendar of events, you'll never be short of things to do or places to check out here.
Come Christmas, a 1,200 sq m rink, centred around a towering 30 ft Christmas tree, will be launched. It will be managed by the same company that operates the popular ice rink at the Natural History Museum. Glide will be open seven days a week from Friday, November 11, 2022, to Sunday, January 8, 2023, and will be a great spot for a picture-perfect date night or an afternoon of family fun. There will be three connected rinks surrounded by sparkling lights and a magnificent 30-foot Christmas tree. From here, you will be able to take in unparalleled views of the Thames.
Incidentally, the reimagining of a classic structure has used the existing elements, such as the steel trusses in Turbine Hall A. The bricks used to rebuild parts of the structure came from the original brickmakers in Gloucestershire and Shropshire.
