London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [55]
Whitechapel Art Gallery.
Founded in 1901, this gallery underwent an ambitious £13 million expansion program that doubled its exhibition space in 2009. The Whitechapel bought the library next door and has created fabulous new galleries alongside facilities for talks, events, film, music, and poetry. The Whitechapel has an international reputation for its shows, which are often on the cutting edge of contemporary art. The American painter Jackson Pollock exhibited here in the 1950s, as did pop artist Robert Rauschenberg in the 1960s; David Hockney had his first solo show here in the 1970s. Pick up a free East End art map to help you with the rest of your gallery hopping. TIP Late-night music events take place on Friday in the café-bar from 8 pm to 11 pm. | 77–82 Whitechapel High St., East End | E1 7QX | 020/7522–7888 | www.whitechapelgallery.org | Free | Tues.–Sun. 11–6 | Aldgate East.
WORTH NOTING
The Blind Beggar.
This is the dark and rather dingy Victorian den of iniquity where Salvation Army founder William Booth preached his first sermon. On the south side of the street stands a stone inscribed “Here William Booth commenced the work of the salvation army, July 1865,” marking the position of the first Sally Army platform; back by the pub a statue of William Booth stands where the first meetings were held. Booth didn’t supply the pub’s main claim to fame, though. The Blind Beggar’s real notoriety dates only from March 1966, when Ronnie Kray—one of the Kray twins, the former gangster kings of London’s East End underworld—shot dead rival “godfather” George Cornell in the saloon bar. The original Albion Brewery, celebrated home to the first bottled brown ale, was next door. | 337 Whitechapel Rd., East End | E1 1BU | Whitechapel.
Christ Church, Spitalfields.
This is the 1729 masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren’s associate Nicholas Hawksmoor. Hawksmoor built six London churches; this one was commissioned as part of Parliament’s 1711 “Fifty New Churches Act.” The idea was to score points for the Church of England against such nonconformists as the Protestant Huguenots. (It must have worked; in the churchyard, you can still see some of their gravestones, with epitaphs in French.) As the local silk industry declined, the church fell into disrepair, and by 1958 the structure was crumbling, with the looming prospect of demolition. But after 25 years—longer than it took to build—and a huge local effort to gather funds, the structure was completely restored and is a joy to behold, from the colonnaded portico and tall spire to its bold, strident baroque-style interior. As a concert venue it truly comes into its own. TIP If you’re lucky enough to be in town during the Spitalfields Festival held every summer and winter, don’t miss the chance to attend a classical concert in this atmospheric ecclesiastical venue. | Commercial St., East End | E1 6QE | 020/7377–2440 | Tues. 11–4, Sun. 1–4 | Aldgate East.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Estorick Collection.
West of Hoxton, on the eastern end of the affluent, yuppie borough of Islington, is this small, restored Georgian mansion with an extraordinary collection of early-20th-century Italian art. The works were acquired by Eric Estorick, an American collector and sociologist, who was particularly keen on Italian Futurists; there are works by Balla, Boccioni, and Severini, among others. The downstairs Estorick Caffè is a good place to grab a bite,