Then and Now: Brixton Police station
Photographic comparisons of old and modern views of Lambeth



1910 The original police station was built in 1868 on the corner of Gresham Road and Brixton Road.



1950 By 1950 the building had been substantially extended, with additions to the main building and a new cell block along Gresham Road. A Battersea Bridge-bound number 34 tram waits in the 'change pit' to switch over to overhead current collection. This tram service was to be replaced by the 45 bus two weeks later.
(pic: Lambeth Archives)



May 2003 This was a hard scene to match up because the photographer's vantage point was now slap bang in the middle of the extremely busy Brixton Road - and the great big tree in the middle doesn't help either! As you can see, the original police station has now completely vanished and been replaced by a 1959 building which won a Civic Trust Award in 1961 (I can't quite work out why as it's not a particularly attractive building)



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