Where is this street?


Please read this description and see if you recognise any of it...

I'm fairly sure it's in London. Somewhere fairly central, I think, probably within the loop of the Circle Line. Might not be though. It has one lane of traffic in either direction but not that much of it, I think, though I haven't really noticed. It also seems to be a place where you can get away with pulling up for five minutes on the double yellows with your hazards on, either that or a couple of drivers are going to get a nasty surprise when they get back. The tarmac has that uniquely Londonish air of filth about it.

It's a cloudy day so I'm not totally sure where the Sun is but I think it's fairly high and more or less aligned with the street, though somewhat to one side. It's lunchtime or early afternoon sort of time so this makes the street run more or less north-south.

I am on the east side of the street, then, standing on the pavement which is about wide enough for three people to walk abreast, or for one person to pass two people going in the opposite direction. I am in front of a house at this point, which may be still a house but may be office premises in what used to be a dwelling. It is built of dark brick, with white sash windows with white or cream painted stone lintels. It is three main storeys high, I think, not counting the two gable windows in the attic or the basement. The house is set back from the pavement, with a sunken area surrounded by spiky iron railings. The front door is on the right hand side of the frontage, with wide shallow stone-flagged steps on an arch over the area leading up to it. It is painted black or some other dark colour, and I think it has a little portico thing over it with fluted pillars, like a little bit off a miniature Greek temple. Not sure about this but I'm fairly sure there's something a bit like that. The walls of the area are painted white, with a couple of smallish and somewhat mucky basement windows, and an assortment of external plumbing. Not sure where the steps down into the area are. I think they're on the left but I could be wrong.

In front of the area railings, offset to the left, there is some kind of obstruction on the pavement, like a red letter box or a yellow or black litter bin. There is also some more centrally-placed obstruction near the kerb, which might be a lamp post or a road sign.

To the left of the house, north up the street if I've got the compass orientation right, I think the next building is another house, or possibly two, of the same type. There is probably a pedestrian island with keep-left bollards in the road opposite this house. The next building after that is different. It is of the same dark-coloured brick but it comes right up to the edge of the pavement, with no area or railings, and I think it is a shop. It also seems to have scaffolding around it with the upper part of the scaffolding covered in green sheeting.

After that there is a crossroads, where a narrower street crosses this one. After the crossroads it continues straight with highish buildings on both sides. I'm not sure if the crossroads has traffic lights or not.

To the right of the house, the next building is more modern. It is built of brick of a similar dark colour but a much rougher surface texture, and has a flat roof with air conditioning vent things on it. It is some kind of business premises, possibly an estate agent, with the name of the business in three lines of shiny letters on the area of side wall which is exposed due to the house being set back from the pavement and this building not being. I cannot make out the letters. The next two buildings are probably shops or some kind of businesses that customers call into, and then there is another crossroads. This one probably has traffic lights, the street crossing is much wider, and the southward continuation of the street after the crossroads is also wider and flanked by lower buildings in lighter colours.

Opposite the house, on the other side of the road, is a building that looks like an old cinema, with steps the full width of the frontage and curved round at the ends leading into a shadowed porchway on the other side of which is a row of double doors, with large glass panels in green-painted wooden frames and big horizontal brass bars to push them open, and some sort of foyer on the other side. I don't seem to be able to see any posters advertising films or anything though. Maybe I'm just missing them. The upper part of the building is a fairly ugly flat expanse of dark and dirty brickwork with a square-set array of cast-iron-framed windows.

The next two buildings to the right of the cinema, theatre, business premises that used to be a cinema, whatever it is, are both houses used as business premises, flush with the pavement and painted white, again with sash windows with stone lintels but smaller. They are probably estate agents or solicitors or something. It's not obvious how you get into the near one; perhaps they are connected internally. That takes us up to the crossroads; the main entrance to the house(s) must face the crossing street, as in the visible wall there are either no doors or one small black-painted service entrance.

To the left of the cinema building are two or three more houses of the same type but with front doors facing the pavement. One of them is probably painted red. Again, they are probably business premises rather than dwellings.

Though none of the businesses on it are of this nature as far as I know, this street may be in the vicinity of some premises connected with the publication of periodicals - editorial offices, photographic studios, typesetters, ie. the information side of it rather than the actual printing and distribution. It may also be near something connected with motorcycles - I think, possibly cars, but more likely to be motorcycles - possibly a dealer, workshop or breaker, possibly some kind of bike meet venue. It is probably also near to somewhere where it is possible to park a car, whether an actual car park or merely a street not subject to parking nazism.

Bear in mind that elements of this description may be distorted, misplaced, part of a different street or simply wrong. I would nevertheless be interested to know if you recognise any of it. If you do, please let me know.




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