A postally unused postcard that was published by Valentine & Sons Ltd. of Dundee and London. The image is a glossy real photograph, and the card was printed in Great Britain.
Although the card is postally unused, someone has used a pencil in order to write "Entrance to Subway" on the back of the card.
On the divided back the publishers have provided some information about Kingsway:
"Kingsway. This magnificent modern thoroughfare extends from Holborn to the Strand, and consists mainly of elegantly designed public and private offices. The building at the far distance is Bush House, while that on the right is the famous Holborn Restaurant. The tramway travels underneath Kingsway".
Kingsway
The last trams in fact travelled in the Kingsway tunnel in April 1952, therefore the card was published in 1952 or earlier.
Kingsway is a major road in central London. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House.
Together Kingsway and Aldwych form one of the major north–south routes through central London linking the ancient east–west routes of High Holborn and the Strand.
History of Kingsway
The road was purpose-built as part of a major redevelopment of the area in the 1900's. Its route cleared away the maze of small streets in Holborn such as Little Queen Street and the surrounding slum dwellings. Holy Trinity Church, which was built in Little Queen Street was spared.
However the Sardinian Embassy Chapel, an important Roman Catholic church attached to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sardinia, was demolished to make way for the new street.
Kingsway is one of the broadest streets in central London at 100 feet (30 m) wide. There were several proposed names for the new street, including King Edward VII Street, Empire Avenue, Imperial Avenue and Connecticut Avenue. The name "Kingsway" was in honour of King Edward VII, who opened the street in 1905.
Kingsway was unique in containing below it a tunnel for a tramway, which started just north of Southampton Row, passed beneath Aldwych and continued to the Thames Embankment. The Kingsway tramway joined the North and South London tram systems.
As noted above the trams ceased to run In the mid-20th. century, and on the 21st. January 1964 the disused tunnel was reopened at the southern end to make a new connection, the Strand Underpass, for light vehicular traffic between Waterloo Bridge and Kingsway in order to reduce congestion.
Also beneath Kingsway was a branch of the Piccadilly tube line from Holborn to Aldwych station on the Strand. It was closed in 1994. Aldwych station is still used for television and film sets that require underground scenes. During the Second World War the branch was used to store art treasures from the British Museum, including the Elgin Marbles.
On the 1st. April 2015, electrical cables under the pavement in Kingsway caught fire, leading to serious disruption in central London. The fire continued for the next two days, with flames shooting out of a manhole cover from a burst gas main, before being extinguished.
Several thousand people were evacuated from nearby offices, and several theatres cancelled performances. There was also substantial disruption to telecoms infrastructure. On the 8th. April, press reports emerged stating that the fire may have been started as part of the 2015 Hatton Garden burglary.
The Kingsway Buildings
The original buildings were built between 1903 and 1905. They were mostly mid-rises in stone, and in various styles including neoclassical and neo-Baroque. Many survive but some have been replaced.
Notable buildings include:
-- 61 Aldwych, previously Television House, the headquarters of Associated-Rediffusion Television -- Africa House -- Alexandra House -- Aviation House, formerly the Church of the Holy Trinity, in an Edwardian Baroque style. -- Bush House, King's College London -- Civil Aviation Authority House (formerly known as Space House) -- Kingsway Hall, Methodist mission hall opened in 1912 and from 1926 the church allowed HMV, and EMI from 1931, to use it as a recording studio. In 1944 EMI were joined by Decca Records -- Victory House (the London Central Employment Tribunal) -- York House -- Various buildings of the London School of Economics.
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