Favorite Fotos: London buildings, part 2

Here are the promised photos of some of the many impressive new buildings all over London. While it doesn't have the quantity of real skyscrapers that you see in places like New York and Chicago, I'd certainly put its inventory of office space, not to mention apartment space, alongside that of any city in the world. And they're busy building more, as you can tell from all the cranes in the photo at the left, taken from the first viewing level on the climb up St. Paul's. Construction is booming all over the area, in large part, I imagine, due to making preparations for their hosting of the Olympics in 2012.

Most of the buildings in these photos I won't be able to identify, but the one on the right is unmistakable—the famously-shaped Gherkin, located in the City of London, that is becoming one of the city's major landmarks.

I also know what the one below is. It's London City Hall, just across the river from the Tower of London, making a picturesque, made-to-order contrast of very old and very new.


I know where the next photo was taken—in front of the Tate Britain, looking back toward Vauxhall Bridge at the very large and very photogenic complex on the other side of the Thames.


Some of the city's most impressive new structures are along the river, and here is another example. This one's located somewhere further upstream, near Battersea Park, judging by its position in the sequence of photos I took that day. Does anyone else think it would make a good component of that cell phone commercial, showing all the bars?


Here's an impressive building, seen from the observation tower on top of Westminster Cathedral. If the photo is looking north, which I think it is, then the complex is probably the Cardinal Place development, but I'm not sure about that.


Here's another one whose identity I'm also not sure of. But I think the photo was taken near St. Paul's.


And one final example, this one taken somewhere along the south bank of the Thames.


And, speaking of that wonderful river, it will be the subject of my next series of favorite photos. I plan to reward myself for getting all my presents wrapped with some happy hours spent going over river photos.