Gritty/Industrial Locations near Southbank

[flare]

I'm looking for locations (for a photo shoot) within a 5 minute walk of the Tate Modern that are more industrial/victorian (i.e. have not been gentrified). Something with graffiti would be ideal.

Any other suggestions for good nearby locations which aren't too touristy would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[rjgibb]

Originally Posted by flare

I'm looking for locations (for a photo shoot) within a 5 minute walk of the Tate Modern that are more industrial/victorian (i.e. have not been gentrified). Something with graffiti would be ideal.

Any other suggestions for good nearby locations which aren't too touristy would be appreciated.

Thanks.

For Victorian you could go with Roupell Street/Brad Street conservation area near Waterloo. Largely untouched terraced housing, used for a lot of photo shoots and TV/film locations.

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/H...vationArea.htm

Although gentrified a little you can get some good (though limited) angles of the warehousing units at Barge House, behind the Oxo Tower.
http://www.southbanklondon.com/attraction/bargehouse/

There's an authorised graffiti site in the Leake Street underpass off Lower Marsh Lane under Waterloo station and a lot of that area is v gritty but not particularly historic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leake_Street

[Nightjar]

Yes, the Leake Street underpass is what sprang to mind for me too.

I would say however that the railway arches there are far from unhistoric, as they're typical examples Victorian engineering and architecture.

Here's a link to a picture on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gertcha/5563380931/

Also...

image hosted on flickr

[flare]

Great, thanks. Never realised Leake St was like that, I knew there had been a Banksy exhibit there in the past but I'd never ventured down there. It is a bit far but if time allows we will definitely head down there.

Is there anywhere similar under the railway between Blackfriars and Canon Street? North of the river is suitable too.

[beleevme]

its further down the river but nine Elms is a mysterious and wonderfully charming area, despite being commonly referred to as a wasteland. Some warehouses in Bermondsey still havent yet been converted to apartments and lofts, so you may be lucky there! Kennington Park Industrial estate has been modernised I think, can't quite remember

[The Champ]

The Thames path diverts underneath the arches that support Cannon St Station just by the Cannon pub on the Riverside, its not a very large area but its suitably atmospheric

[Palimpsest]

Depending on what precisely you are looking for, there's a small pocket of grittiness on America Street: I also like the contrast between the grand-sounding name suggesting a long boulevard and the back-street reality. Speaking as someone who has art directed magazine photo-shoots, one idea I've had in my locker for years is to use the street sign/textured brick wall as a contrasting backdrop to some stars-and-stripes glitziness/Hollywood actor/clean-cut fashion shoot. I haven't been there for a while and a quick look on Google shows scaffolding that is new to me so I hope gentrification hasn't sanitised the rest of it. Google Street View shows the wall/street sign and the dark railway arch at that end on Great Guildford Street which offers other possibilities. It's a very small area but it might be what you are looking for: just watch out for the occasional taxi using it as a rat-run.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?clien...ed=0CA0Q8gEwAQ

[flare]

Will definitely check out America St, I presume it has a similar vista to the parallel alleys around Ewer St, such as http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6092/6...cb021b6b_z.jpg