This small section of the Central London skyline is seen from the riverside viewpoint in Minerva Square, on the north side of Southwark Cathedral. I particular like the contrast between the nearer rectilinear buildings and the ultra-modern ones behind; yellowish stone against blue-green glass and steel.
Entering the image from the near right, London Bridge links the City of London to Southwark. The current bridge opened in 1973 but there have been 'London Bridges' here since the Roman era (c.55CE) and the most famous structure, featuring 19 irregular arches and 200 buildings up to seven storeys tall) stood here for over six centuries, 1209–1831.
To the left of the northern end, 300 m from here, Fishmongers' Hall is the Grade II* Listed headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. There's been a Fishmongers' Hall since at least 1310, on this site since 1434. It was one of the 44 Livery halls destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London; a replacement opened in 1671. Demolished for a new London Bridge in 1827, the current hall opened in 1834. Unfortunately, it was the location of fatal stabbings in 2019.
At the right, Adelaide House is Grade II Listed for its pioneering roles in British architecture/construction: at completion in 1925, the 43 m office block was the City's tallest, the first to feature the steel frame later used for skyscrapers, and the UK's first office block to have telephones, electricity and central ventilation throughout.
Designed by Sir John Burnet and Thomas Tait, incorporating fashionable Egyptian motifs, the building was named for Queen Adelaide (consort of William IV), who had opened London Bridge in 1831.
Disappointingly, its roof no longer accommodates a fruit/flower garden and 18-hole mini golf course.
To the immediate left, Regis House (45 King William St) occupies the site of King William Street Station, first terminus of the City and South London Railway. That opened in 1890, but the station was bypassed by extension of the line to Moorgate, and closed in 1900. The street-level station was demolished in the 1930s, in favour of this office building, but the ghost platforms remain and served as a public air raid shelter in the 1940s.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London is immediately beyond, 450 m away: a Doric column which displays a gilded burning urn 62 m above the ground and the exact same distance west of the point in Pudding Lane where the fire began in 1666.
Now Grade I Listed and a scheduled monument, the viewpoint at the top of a 311-step spiral staircase is worth visiting – but pick an uncrowded time of day.
The Leadenhall Building, ~930 m away at 122 Leadenhall Street, was designed by Richard Rogers and opened in 2014. Forty-eight storeys and 225 m tall, it takes the form of a wedge, apparently to preserve the legally-protected sightline of St Paul's Cathedral from Fleet Street and the west. That has also invited the nickname 'The Cheesegrater',
The 180m-tall, 41-storey tower of 30 St Mary Axe, 1.1 km away, became popularly known as 'The Gherkin' even before it was completed in 2003 and opened in 2004. Designed by Norman Foster and Arup Group and built on the site of the Baltic Exchange, this has to be one of London's most widely recognised landmarks, even subsequently surrounded by taller buildings.
The distinctive shape of 20 Fenchurch Street, ~650 m away, has similarly inspired the nickname 'The Walkie-Talkie'. Designed by Rafael Viñoly and completed in early 2014 with the 3-storey 'public' Sky Garden (a condition of planning approval) opening in 2015, this is the sixth-tallest building in the City and 12th-tallest in Greater London, at 160 m and 38-storeys.
Publicity hasn't been universally favourable. Concavity in the novel shape focuses sunlight into southern streets, reaching 91–117°C even before the building was finished. That's easily sufficient to damage parked cars, never mind pedestrians. Additionally, the Sky Garden apparently isn't to agreed standards and if one has to pre-book or accept closures for private events, that's less public than specified.
