Continuing on from the Oxo building I find a market selling street food from various countries. These pop-up markets have become a feature of the Southbank.
Just beyond the market is the National Theatre. The concept of a national theatre on this site dates back to 1948 when the Greater London Council presented a site close to the Royal Festival Hall. A foundation stone was laid in 1951, but arguments over funding of the building and the arts in general held up progress. This was finally resolved in the early 1960s. The National Theatre Company was formed and used the Old Vic as a temporary home. The building on the Southbank, which houses three different performance spaces was opened in 1976-7 and the theatre company moved to its new home.
Next door under Waterloo bridge is the National Film Theatre (known today as the BFI Southbank). Founded in 1951 for the Festival of Britain it moved to this location in 1957. It specialises in showing classic, independent and non-English language films.
A little further along is a building which contains the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery. They were opened in 1967-68 as additional performance and display spaces to the larger Royal Festival Hall, which now forms part of the same complex.
The Royal Festival Hall is a large concert hall, built for the Festival of Britain and opened in 1951.
A last look at the river before I turn inland
To end this walk I make my way to Waterloo Station and its magnificent facade
Opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, the entrance was added in 1922 as a commemeration of World war I.
