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a mirrored box for the father of electricity

Michael Faraday Memorial

FreeHidden gem
Elephant & Castle · Elephant & Castle
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A gleaming stainless-steel box marooned in the traffic at Elephant and Castle, secretly a Tube substation honouring a great scientist.

Getting there. On the traffic island at Elephant and Castle, by the station.
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Elephant & Castle · Elephant & Castle
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The lowdown

Marooned on a traffic island at Elephant and Castle stands a striking, windowless box clad in shining stainless steel, looking like a piece of pure abstract sculpture. It is in fact an electrical substation for the Underground, and it was deliberately designed as a memorial to Michael Faraday, the pioneering scientist of electricity and magnetism who was born nearby.

The architect Rodney Gordon created it in 1961, intending the mirrored cube to one day be lit from within. Faraday's discoveries made the very Tube it powers possible, so the tribute is perfectly fitting. It is free to see, a bold piece of Brutalist design hiding an everyday function in plain sight.

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The insider tip

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It is on a busy island, so view it from the surrounding pavements rather than crossing to it. The mirror-like steel is the point, designed to reflect the city, and it looks best lit up after dark.
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