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BLUE STAR MODEL GARAGE
Exhibition
last chance
Blue Star Model Garage
29 Aug 2024 – 20 Sep 2024
Regular hours
- Monday
- Closed
- Tuesday
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Wednesday
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Thursday
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Friday
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Saturday
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Sunday
- 10:00 – 18:00
Free admission
Address
- Swiss Cottage Central Library, 88 Avenue Road,
- London
- NW3 3HA
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- C11,13,31,46,82,113,187
- Swiss Cottage
The artist Joe Frazer is interested in creating representations of spaces and buildings in order to understand their role in our social memory
About
Built in the 1930s, the Blue Star petrol station and garage epitomized the architectural innovation of a then burgeoning motoring age. Known by many as ‘The Tower’, the multi-storeyed structure featured a garage, filling station and clock tower that could be seen from afar by drivers and pedestrians alike. Motor access to the upper floors allowed for a car showroom and sales area, illuminated at night. The Tower stood at the corner of Finchley Road and Hendon Way, marked today by a sign directing drivers to ‘The North’.
The Tower appeared in Top Gear: Series 4, Episode 4, where a V8 TDi Audi A8 began its journey to Edinburgh from its pumps, completing the entire trip with just one tank of fuel. Fisher-Price's 1970 Play Garage toy echoes the Blue Star’s design with a ramp that sweeps from the left and around the back of its tower.
The model in this exhibition, based on original architectural drawings from the London Archives, reflects Joe Frazer’s ongoing research into architectural model-ship as an archival art form.
