The faded picture of Piccadilly Circus (see the March 16th article below) was taken in the summer of 1969. I was then a high school graduate enjoying my first trip to Europe. I took the picture above tonight, March 24.
Lots of things have changed in the last 40 years, not the least of which is our ability today to take a photograph and instantly publish it for the world to see. When you compare the two photographs, what strikes you as being similar and dissimilar?
Certainly Coca Cola is a constant, but otherwise the roster of advertisers has changed from 40 years ago when the billboards advertised vermouth, ale and lager beer, rum, cigarettes, Bulova watches, and London theatre. The old billboards were static images. Today's displays contain video graphics advertising technology brands such as Sanyo, Samsung, and TDK.
What's the same? Piccadilly Circus remains a busy intersection with its own tube station. It attracts tourists day and night to see the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of Anteros. London is a great tourist destination, and I'll be publishing in the days to come about the 17 hotel site inspections I'm due to complete over my three days here.
Piccadilly Circus (search here on Google)
copyright (c) 2008 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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1 comment:
Have fun!!!
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