LivingInATubemap - Elephant And Castle

ELEPHANT_bySebastiaan

burglar

elephant-and-castle

Entry 1:

I visited the Elephant at Christmas after 3 months away living in America. I emerged from the Northern line tube exit, turned the corner to the left and suddenly I couldn't get over how great it smelled to me - maybe just because it was my home for so long. Carribean food, fish and chips, diesel fumes from the many buses, dust, perfume and styling wax and bodies - all so vibrant and thoroughly energetic. The stalls around the shopping centre are ripe for bargains, and for people watching. Look, I'm not delusional - Elephant's no picture but if you want to get around by bus in south London, the likelihood is you'll be passing through, so why not stop for a minute, browse the stalls or the second hand bookstore in the shopping centre, buy a coffee and indulge in London at it's realest.

Entry 2:

The elephant and castle. An urban vision or an urban nightmare? Popular with its local residents for the market. Feared after dark because of its grim tunnel system. No designer chique, but cosmopolitan and urban reality instead, fake designer handbags if you insist. Great pizza restaurant. I remember a good night out at Ruby Tuesdays with some work colleagues. There are plans to redesign the whole area. Highrise with rooftop gardens may eventually replace the big estates. These same estates won architectural prices in the 60's. It was the biggest regeneration scheme in Europe. It's vision was praised. The name is another point for discussion. Derived from the Infantin of Castille, Spanish princess. Through the years it became better known as the elephant and Castle. It used to be pink, and so called the pink elephant when I worked in the area 7 years ago. One day, red nose day, a paint manufacturer painted the whole thing red, as a publicity stunt. The statue of the Elephant with a castle on tis back is still there, near the bus stop. The northern line entrance has been revamped I've noticed.

Entry 3:

This place sucks so much you almost love it, It is basically two big roundabouts, a network of subways and a ghastly big pink shopping centre crowned with cavorting elephants. Sebastians picture makes it look so hip and chick. But pictures do lie.

Entry 4: The crossroads of South London! Voted the ugliest shopping centre in the UK is the claim to fame. A lot of development is happening here at the moment and it has improved a lot over the past decade.

A couple of times at the tube station exit, a member of staff has taken artistic licence to demonstrate, and warn, of a slippery floor...

Station_warning_text_by_Tom