On Wed, 12 May 2004 00:56:49 +0100, "Marratxi"
wrote:


Clips sent as requested. In addition to the firms already mentioned I seem
to recall that Strand Electrics, who supply a lot of the lighting for films
and theatre, had a place there.
Cheerz,
Baz

The entire site of the Empire Exhibition, was once quite interesting.
With the sands-of-time passing and the redevelopment of the Stadium
the entire area has undergone major development and has seem many
changes over the years.

The site was once an 18-hole Golf Course before becoming the grounds
for the Empire Exhibition.

The Empire Stadium, as it was originally known, was built by
architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayerton, and the engineer Sir
Owen Williams. It took just 300 days to complete at a cost of 750,000,
and was built from 25,000 tons of ferro concrete, 1000 tons of steel,
and over half a million rivets.

The Empire Exhibition was a remarkable event, with fountains, lakes,
gardens and many pavilions, each representing the architectural style
of the countries exhibiting. It was opened by King George V on 23rd
April 1924, and was an immediate success. It even re-opened between
May and October the following year which lifted the final attendance
to 27,102,498. There were 4,500,000 admissions to the Empire Stadium
alone.

The 'Flying Scotsman' locomotive was exhibited there.

Many odd bits of the exhibition centre and grounds did hang around for
a long time after 1927.

The Empire Pool has seen hundreds of uses over the years, though its
initial construction was as an Olympic swimming and diving pool.
Better known as an ice stadium. There is a huge cavernous vault
underneath the building, that housed amonia tanks etc, for the ice
rink. Behind the Empire Pool were once three lakes, these weren't
filled-in until the early 70's. and were crosed by several little
arched bridges. I believe the elevated endless railway ran close-by
to these lakes.

Can anyone remember that enormous ski-jump that was erected inside
Wembley Statium on the early 1960's?

Associated Redifusion moved into studios there sometime in the late
50's early 60's.

One of the buildings/palaces just off Olympic Way, was once used by
Firestone Tyres and was a dreadful mess and eyesore in 1972.

Just along Empire Way. close to its junction with Wembley Hill,
was/still is a building with a half-domed shape on the side of it.
This was, I believe, one of the first semi-circular cinema screens.
The building was later used by Columbus Dixon the firm that made floor
polishing machinery.

Right at the end of Fouth Way, which was once a very quiet part of the
estate, was British Communications (Racal) and between Fourth Way and
what is now the Stadium Business centre was 'Dancers Hall' used as a
paint and sprayshop by BCC.

The railway station now named Wembley Statium, was formerly called,
Wembley Complex and before that Wembley Hill. This was an almost
rural and very little used station in the 1960's, it hardly saw any
passenger traffic at all except when the Stadium was being used for a
major event. I remember it something rather like a 'timewarp' with its
little dimly lit ticket office fronting onto Wembley Hill Road. The
huge tower block hotel next door to this station was named the Esso
Hotel when initially built.

Wembley Stadium Statium Station has disappeared completely, though
some of the trackbed of its loop line might still be evident. Does
anyone have an old map showing the exact line of rail, they could let
me have a scan of? or is there anything on a website?

Two structures always dominated the Wembley skyline. The GEC Tower at
North Wembley and the twin towers of the Stadium, both have now
disappeared for ever.

I've not been back there since 1972, so much will have changed since
my recollections of this place.

Nigel