A walk around Brick Lane

[DeadManWalking]

What about push bikes?

 

[ohmyliver]

The Hauser & Wirth Coppermill is always worth a visit on cheshire street. It's pretty surreal going down the road and coming across the most bizarre exhibitions they have in this huge old warehouse.

did you see the Martin Creed one? The center piece was a projection of a very well shot slowed down black and white film of buggery, fascinating watching peoples reactions (like the young middle class couple who when it came on, turned their baby buggy around so that it was facing away from the film, but then carried on watching)

that old warehouse used to hold stalls, and held the best stall I've ever seen, a woman in her 60s or 70s dolled up to the nines, wearing a fake fur coat, selling framed photos of james dean and the like with a small tinny ghetto blaster pumping out the most pornographic do-wap music I've heard.

 

[editor]

If you think Brick Lane's bad - you should have a look at what they've done to Spitalfields.

Well, that's just gone, hasn't it?

 

[rutabowa]

The market has changed quite a lot and is definitely smaller. Just about all the little casual pitches along the pavement at the top heading to the west have gone. You'd see people trying to sell things like a kettle without a lid, or one left shoe. The police drove them away, they didn't like them for some reason.

The pet stalls selling goldfish, budgies and finches along what was Club Row are gone, as are all the stolen watch sellers, who hung around at the junction near the bagel bakery.

The NF and BNP newspaper sellers who had their pitches at the top of Brick Lane are also long gone, but not many will miss them.

oh well i don't go there myself so i can't judge i was just passing on the opinion of someone who has lived there their whole life... i guess maybe the bits that have changed he thinks have changed for the better. if you want the stalls selling odd shoes etc you only have to go up the road to Kingsland Waste market (though i guess that won't exist in not too long).

 

[poster342002]

The market has changed quite a lot and is definitely smaller. Just about all the little casual pitches along the pavement at the top heading to the west have gone. You'd see people trying to sell things like a kettle without a lid, or one left shoe.

Not very surprising they went out of business selling stuff like that, really. Can't imagine there's much demand for lidless kettles or single left shoes.

 

[dash_two]

Well, that's just gone, hasn't it?

So you're not going to get your hair cut at 'Pimps and Pin-ups' then?

http://www.pimpsandpinups.com/

poster342002: Those little pitches were a mystery. But they didn't go out of business so much as were moved away by the police and council.

 

[cesare]

Well, that's just gone, hasn't it?

The whole area just looks like an outpost of Bishopsgate now. The City's swallowing up the East End

 

[g force]

So you're not going to get your hair cut at 'Pimps and Pin-ups' then?

http://www.pimpsandpinups.com/

poster342002: Those little pitches were a mystery. But they didn't go out of business so much as were moved away by the police and council.

Oh Jesus

£34 for a mens hair cut.

 

[g force]

The whole area just looks like an outpost of Bishopsgate now. The City's swallowing up the East End

At least they kept the frontage bit....yes I'm grasping at straws!

 

[zuszsa]

I went for a stroll around there last Sunday - it's one of my favourite places. I especially enjoy the remnants of the tat market. You can still buy a broken clock or a random washing machine hose Not to mention dodgy porn dvds, smuggled cigarettes, stolen bicycles or a 'fell off a lorry guv' telly.

I've often thought of packing my 'best keep it - it might be useful one day' rubbish in a bag, going down there, spreading a tea towel on the ground and seeing if I can make enough for a curry and a gassy beer.

 

[scifisam]

I live very near there - between Brick Lane, Hoxton and Broadway Market. I find it really odd that these areas are so trendy; there's still a lot of poor people here, it's just that these days they're happy to admit where they live.

The market has changed quite a lot and is definitely smaller. Just about all the little casual pitches along the pavement at the top heading to the west have gone. You'd see people trying to sell things like a kettle without a lid, or one left shoe. The police drove them away, they didn't like them for some reason.

The pet stalls selling goldfish, budgies and finches along what was Club Row are gone, as are all the stolen watch sellers, who hung around at the junction near the bagel bakery.

The NF and BNP newspaper sellers who had their pitches at the top of Brick Lane are also long gone, but not many will miss them.

I wonder if it's not so much the police (because they always tried to move people on, didn't they?) as the growing strength of Freecycle and ebay? If people want random tat now, they look online, not in the market. And people are generally a bit more aware now of how likely market-bought animals are to live beyond a week.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

agree with sci fi sam - there's still a lot of deprivation in the area - only half the street has moved on - there is still a stand off just past the truman brewery.

i was there on saturday and it is sometimes so hip it hurts
still cheap bagels tho

 

[marty21]

interesting area, i worked around there for a few months, about 3 years ago, used to love wandering around the place, i took a picture of that gateway as well, i'll have a rumage around and see if i can find it

found it

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

It's certainly a great area to wander about though - it's changing very fast yet you'll come across something that looks untouched from Victorian times.

Sadly, it'll probably have its soul sucked out in five years time and end up as bland as Notting Hill.

Or Brixton

 

[editor]

Or Brixton

Nah, Brixton's quite diferent, really.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Nah, Brixton's quite diferent, really.

you mean there are differeing grades of gentrification.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

So Brixton isn't 'changing very fast' nor will it end up 'probably hav[ing] its soul sucked out in five years time and end up as bland' then? Things like what has happened at Spitalfields are essentially indefensible, but the large settled population in and around Brick Lane will certainly ensure that, to some large degree, the soul won't be sucked out, as you put it.

Sorry, nice photos but i don't think your sweeping generalisations based on an afternoons wandering about stand up to scrutiny. I've worked ITA for 10 years, yep there's loads of Nathans about, the city is encroaching, the demographic is changing. But to talk of souls being sucked out when you live in an area that has experienced very similar changes doesn't really stand up to scrutiny imo. Brixton full of drug-dealers thread anyone? Nahwhat i mean?

 

[editor]

So Brixton isn't 'changing very fast' nor will it end up 'probably hav[ing] its soul sucked out in five years time and end up as bland' then? .

I could take time out to explain how the differing demographics, business/housing mixes, histories and economics of both areas have led to them having quite similar but also vastly different prospects, but I really can't be arsed at this last hour.

I think Brixton's soul sucking danger time was about ten years ago, but the gentrification didn't quite 'stick' and I think it'll be a while before the hipsters start flooding in again. Brick Lane, on the other hand, looks ripe for exploiting, fuelled by its proximity to the City to the west and Canary Wharf to the east.

Brick Lane is most certainly in rapid change - as evidenced by that hideous hipster estate agents - and from visiting the place for decades (I first went there in the late 70s), the recent speed of this transition is positively breathtaking, and I think the local culture will take a hammering as the big bucks roll in.

(Sorry, I went back and edited this post to make it a little less stroppy. It's been a long day!)

 

[Stobart Stopper]

I preferred Brick Lane in the 70's, before all the rich tossers moved in.

It used to have a certain amount of character, true, it was a bit of a shithole but it had a bit of that Jack The Ripper atmosphere about it. Me and my brother often used to walk to Liverpool St from Bethnal Green Road, all the way down Brick Lane. Alot of the old Jewish cabinet makers were still there, and some of the old weavers houses were still lived in by cockney'/Jews/Bengalis.

Now it's just full of funny speaking posh people who wear weird clothes.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

I could take time out to explain how the differing demographics, business/housing mixes, histories and economics of both areas have led to them having quite similar but also vastly different prospects, but I really can't be arsed at this last hour.

I think Brixton's soul sucking danger time was about ten years ago, but the gentrification didn't quite 'stick' and I think it'll be a while before the hipsters start flooding in again. Brick Lane, on the other hand, looks ripe for exploiting, fuelled by its proximity to the City to the west and Canary Wharf to the east.

Brick Lane is most certainly in rapid change - as evidenced by that hideous hipster estate agents - and from visiting the place for decades (I first went there in the late 70s), the recent speed of this transition is positively breathtaking, and I think the local culture will take a hammering as the big bucks roll in.

(Sorry, I went back and edited this post to make it a little less stroppy. It's been a long day!)

to be fair i think that the idea was to gentrify most places about 10 years ago with varing degress of sucess.

Look at islington for example upper street became this nouveau riche play groud of high street dull and boutique the rest of islington is still pretty much run down and has some terrible estates and areas as well as some incredibly rich areas to.

the whole spitlefields area again was start about 10 years ago and the gentrification of that area lost London the vibrant market place and all that that entails.

I think there will always be attempts to radcially modernise or refrom areas by people with too much money, however it's often like a sticking plaster to stop a dyke leak, the orginal charchter of the area isn't going to be supressed for long before it starts seeping through.

I'm sure that during that process we lose a lot of what gave the different areas to London their uniqueness with the homogenised starbucks effect tho.

 

[blossie33]

I love walking around the back streets between the Brick Lane, Shoreditch and Old Street areas especially when it's quiet on a Sunday morning. There are still some interesting old buildings to see - the old Victorian building in Quaker Street for one (went to a couple of parties in there a few years ago )
Really hope the area doesn't get completely trendified.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

I could take time out to explain how the differing demographics, business/housing mixes, histories and economics of both areas have led to them having quite similar but also vastly different prospects, but I really can't be arsed at this last hour.

I think Brixton's soul sucking danger time was about ten years ago, but the gentrification didn't quite 'stick' and I think it'll be a while before the hipsters start flooding in again. Brick Lane, on the other hand, looks ripe for exploiting, fuelled by its proximity to the City to the west and Canary Wharf to the east.

Brick Lane is most certainly in rapid change - as evidenced by that hideous hipster estate agents - and from visiting the place for decades (I first went there in the late 70s), the recent speed of this transition is positively breathtaking, and I think the local culture will take a hammering as the big bucks roll in.

(Sorry, I went back and edited this post to make it a little less stroppy. It's been a long day!)

If anywhere is in danger of gentrfication over coming years due to its proximity to the city, i reckon its actually the area to the North, from Haggerston up to Dalston Junction. You can aleady see loads of warehouses and factory buildings being converted to loft-style apartments and luxury flats (see for eg, the hideous mess that's been made of the old Shoreditch library.) And because it doesn't have the historical architechture nor a large settled population in the way that Brick Lane and surroundings does, it will certainly experience some dramatic transformations, especially when the tube extension finally happens. I agree that the there have been equally dramatic changes to the east around Brick Lane, but at least since the 60's, you've had city types/moneyed types in and around here (they were thought to be a driving force in the squatting movement oddly enough).

You say the speed of transformation is breathtaking but also that you haven't been there for ~30 years. So maybe it isn't changing quite so fast as you think? There is a settled Bangla community who have largely replaced the Hugenots and Jews but the tradition of recent immigrants living in and around the area won't be changing for many years. There's also still a relatively large concentration of homeless people in the area, as there has been for years, and with places like Providence Row and the Sailors Centre and so on, this will remain the case for the foreseeable. When the Nathans move on, I'm sure someone else will move in to fill the gap and what a relief that will be but it does make Brick Lane quite a buzzing and busy place in the evenings atm.

 

[dash_two]

You also see more stunnas there than in times past.

Re. the kettle-without-a-lid pavement pitches, those were run by and for the poorest of people too proud or shy to go begging outright. They would probably have thought it a good day if they took £3 or £4 tbh.

 

[editor]

You say the speed of transformation is breathtaking but also that you haven't been there for ~30 years. So maybe it isn't changing quite so fast as you think?

No. I've been back to Brick Lane many times over the years so I've seen the rate of change pretty close up.

It really reminds me of Williamsburg in Brooklyn with its similar mix of run down business/residential buildings, arty types milling about, explosion of smart boho bars/cafes/fashion shops and - crucially - close poximity to the commercial heart of the city.

I like Brick Lane a lot - really - but to my eyes, all the hallmarks of a Williamsburg bland-out are right there in place and accelerating over the horizon.

That's not to say that I think the entire surrounding area is about to gentrify because I don't think that will happen, but I do fear for Brick Lane's future.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Slight shoe digression: Pretty sure that is an American import. I tried to get a straight answer on this when I was in the States as I used to see them _everywhere_, and everyone seemed to have a different answer that they were very sure about - I heard the drug spot one, also things like "it's a tradition if someone you know dies in the army".

They could all simultaneously be true I suppose.

 

[editor]

Slight shoe digression: Pretty sure that is an American import.

It is:

Shoe flinging or "shoefiti" is the American and Canadian practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the assembly is apparently then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas. This practice plays a widespread, though mysterious, role in adolescent folklore in the United States. Shoe flinging has also been reported in Australia, Sweden, France and Norway.

Shoe flinging occurs throughout the United States, in rural as well as in urban areas. Usually, the shoes flung at the wires are sneakers; elsewhere, especially in rural areas, many different varieties of shoes, including leather shoes and boots, also are thrown.

A number of sinister explanations have been proposed as to why this is done. Some say that shoes hanging from the wires advertise a local crack house where crack cocaine is used and sold (in which case the shoes are sometimes referred to as "Crack Tennies"). It can also relate to a place where Heroin is sold to symbolize the fact that once you take Heroin you can never 'leave': a reference to the addictive nature of the drug. Others claim that the shoes so thrown commemorate a gang-related murder, or the death of a gang member, or as a way of marking gang turf.[1] A newsletter from the mayor of Los Angeles, California cites fears of many Los Angeles residents that "these shoes indicate sites at which drugs are sold or worse yet, gang turf," and that city and utility employees had launched a program to remove the shoes.[2] These explanations have the ring of urban legend to them, especially since the practice also occurs along relatively remote stretches of rural highways that are unlikely scenes for gang murders or crack houses.

Other, less sinister explanations also have been ventured. Some claim that shoes are flung to commemorate the end of a school year, or a forthcoming marriage as part of a rite of passage. It has been suggested that the custom may have originated with members of the military, who are said to have thrown military boots, often painted orange or some other conspicuous color, at overhead wires as a part of a rite of passage upon completing basic training or on leaving the service. Others claim that the shoes are stolen from other people and tossed over the wires as a sort of bullying, or as a practical joke played on drunkards. Others simply say that shoe flinging is a way to get rid of shoes that are no longer wanted, are uncomfortable, or don't fit. It may also be another manifestation of the human instinct to leave their mark on, and decorate, their surroundings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_tossing

 

[marty21]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/...04/04/chiltern_shoe_tree_040406_feature.shtml

i drove past this at the weekend, it's close to stokechurch in the chilterns, no idea who started it, what it's for or anything, i've driven past it a few times, never had the time to stop and look and admire it

on the topic of shoes, a little visited thread of mine from a while ago, there is a tree near stokechurch, festooned with shoes, i thought it might have something to do with someone dying nearby

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

No. I've been back to Brick Lane many times over the years so I've seen the rate of change pretty close up.

It really reminds me of Williamsburg in Brooklyn with its similar mix of run down business/residential buildings, arty types milling about, explosion of smart boho bars/cafes/fashion shops and - crucially - close poximity to the commercial heart of the city.

I like Brick Lane a lot - really - but to my eyes, all the hallmarks of a Williamsburg bland-out are right there in place and accelerating over the horizon.

That's not to say that I think the entire surrounding area is about to gentrify because I don't think that will happen, but I do fear for Brick Lane's future.

Sorry, i misread your statement on when you visited & 30 years, etc. Don't know Williamsburg at all so can't really comment on the comparison, tbh. I just can't see that what you referred to as the 'soul' of the place will be sucked out in such a short time, or even over a slightly longer time.

The development that has occured at the north end of the Lane was well needed because the place was a fucking dump, but there is so much social housing around here that i'm not sure that major displacement can occur to so much of a degree. Like i said, the way it looks to me is a lot of the city types moving to the north, where the development opportunities are myriad, the transport links are good and improving rapidly and there isn't the sense of history or settlement i suppose. It is very different in many ways around here but it also remains the same in many others, imo. Time will tell in the end.

 

[Kenny Vermouth]

Blimey, the place is gentrifying so fast you can almost feel your accent changing while you stand there.

Here's a few pics:

More: http://www.urban75.org/london/brick-lane-london.html

What are the 10 photos you have taken that you like the best for whatever reason? I'd be keen to know. Maybe you could post them up somewhere or link to them.

 

[Stobart Stopper]

Well, that's just gone, hasn't it?

No, it's stil there but it's a Yuppie market, selling scented soaps and silly cardigans. At least it was last time I was up that way a couple of years ago. I bet some developer has his greedy little eyes on that building.