London’s Vintage Garages: A Photographic Journey
Photographer Philip Butler‘s “226 Garages and Service Stations” showcases the architectural beauty of London’s vintage garages, a largely overlooked aspect of the city’s history. Initially defined in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1902 as buildings for storing and sheltering motor vehicles, garages evolved to also encompass repair services. Butler’s work highlights the golden age of garage design in the early 20th century, revealing a diverse range of styles, from the streamline moderne Daimler Hire Garage to the unique Park Langley ‘Chinese’ Garage. Many examples, such as the iconic Michelin House with its stained-glass Bibendums, are architectural masterpieces. Butler’s photographs capture not only the aesthetic variety but also the current state of these structures, some still functioning as originally intended, others repurposed or decaying. The project reveals the often-hidden history of these buildings, contrasting their architectural significance with their often-unremarkable present-day presence in the urban landscape. The book provides a nostalgic look at a bygone era, urging viewers to appreciate these often overlooked gems of London’s architectural heritage, much like appreciating a classic car. Examples highlighted include the East Sheen Filling Station, Frame Right Auto Engineers, and numerous others across various London boroughs.
(Source: https://londonist.com/london/art-and-photography/garages-london)
