please empty your brain below

All I remember about the Festival of Britain is the Skylon, the Dome of Discovery and the TeleKinema. I suppose looking back the whole site was a bit tatty. It was a quick fix to a run down site. The railway arches were decorated and painted. The Skylon looked impressive, but today we have the Girkin, the Shard and Canary Wharf to look up at. In 1951 London had no skyscrapers. I guess St. Pauls and the Monument were things we looked up at back then. However it would be nice to see the Skylon return to the Riverside.
Being a young lad I did enjoy going to Battersea Park, 6d to get in through a turnstile. I liked John Collins Big Dipper, the water slide and the Rotor. The Guiness Clock was another favourite, and the tree walk.
Well today we have a tree walk at Kew Gardens, and good fun fairs of higher quality than Battesea Pleasure Gardens at Thorpe Park or Chessington.
The Festival Hall was really impressive when it opened, and I remember we even had a class discussion about the building at school. The Hall continues to serve well to this day.
The National Film Theatre (now the BFI) has its origins back to the Festival of Britain.


I had just turned six when we visited the Festival of Britain. I can't remember much about it, but the things which do stand out were the Skylon (the demolition of which I still believe was a work of unbelievable political vandalism), the logo, a copy of which which I had for years as a small badge and the tree walk in Battersea Gardens.
I'll certainly be visiting sometime in the summer and will probably be disappointed, but nothing a nice boozy lunch won't cure.

dg, you don't seem to have directly mentioned "The Museum of 1951". Trying to find reference to it on the Southbank Centre website is difficult, and many visitors will miss it as it is hidden at the back of the ground floor of the Festival Hall. However it is well worthwhile seeking out this fascinating little free exhibition about the Festival of Britain.











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