The last days of London - in pictures

Colin O’Brien has been photographing the lives of Londoners since 1948, capturing both change and continuity in the life of the capital. His book London Life records the final moments before transformation took place in the city

  • Thames Embankment, 1952

    When I was 12, the trams stopped running forever so I took this picture with my box camera while the driver posed for me. I loved going out with my dad on Sunday mornings for a ride through the Kingsway Tunnel and out on to the Embankment. It was even more exciting if we managed to get the front seat on the top deck where I could imagine I was driving the tram.London Life, by Colin O’Brien, is published by Spitalfields Life Books, and can be purchased here
    <strong>Thames Embankment, 1952 </strong>When I was twelve, the trams stopped running forever so I took this picture with my box camera while the driver posed for me. I loved going out with my dad on Sunday mornings for a ride through the Kingsway Tunnel and out onto the Embankement. It was even more exciting if we managed to get the front seat on the top deck where I could imagine I was driving the tram

  • Skinner St, Clerkenwell, 1952

    Long since demolished, the Rio Cinema was where we used to go as kids and watch films over and over again until we got bored. Westerns were my favourite and we all loved to mimic the actors and shout and clap at inappropriate moments
    <strong>Skinner Street, Clerkenwell, 1952</strong> Long since demolished, the Rio Cinema was where we used to go as kids and watch films over and over again until we got bored. Westerns were my favourite and we all loved to mimic the actors and shout and clap at inappropriate moments

  • Clerkenwell Road, 1970s

    After more than a century of use by hundreds of families, Victoria Dwellings - once my home - was demolished and I moved with my family to a flat on the 23rd floor of the newly built Michael Cliffe House on the other side of Clerkenwell
    <strong>Clerkenwell Road, 1970s</strong> After more than a century of use by hundreds of families, Victoria Dwellings - once my home - was demolished and I moved with my family into a flat on the twenty-third floor of the newly built Michael Cliffe House on the other side of Clerkenwell

  • Covent Garden, 1973

    The last throes of Covent Garden when it was still a working fruit and vegetable market, supplying shops and restaurants with fresh produce daily. These pictures were taken a few weeks before it closed for good
    <strong>Covent Garden, 1973 </strong>The last throes of Covent Garden when it was still a working fruit and vegetable market, supplying shops and restaurants with fresh produce daily. These pictures were taken a few weeks before it close for good

  • Covent Garden, 1973

    The fruit and vegetable market relocated to the New Covent Garden Market between Vauxhall and Battersea in 1974
    <strong>Covent Garden, 1973 </strong>The fruit and vegetable market relocated to the New Covent Garden Market between Vauxhall and Battersea in 1974

  • Hackney, early 1980s

    One of the last rag and bone men plying his trade by going door-to-door, picking up metal and scrap
    <strong>Hackney, early 1980s</strong> One of the last rag and bone men plying his trade by going door-to-door, picking up metal and scrap

  • Regent’s Canal, Bethnal Green, 1987

    George Trewby’s magnificent gasometer constructed for the Gas Light and Coke Company in 1889 towers over the frozen canal
    <strong>Regent’s Canal, Bethnal Green, 1987 </strong>George Trewby’s magnificent gasometer constructed for the Gas Light and Coke Company in 1889 towers over the frozen canal

  • King’s Cross, 1974

    These gasometers were built in the 1850s as part of the Pancras Gasworks
    <strong>King’s Cross, 1974 </strong>These gasometers were built in the 1850s as part of the Pancras Gasworks

  • Nightingale Estate, Hackney Downs, 1999

    Hackney Council decided that many of their high-rise blocks were failures as housing and decided to blow them up. Of the six towers that made up the estate, five were demolished. Since 2003, low-rise buildings have been constructed where the blocks once stood
    <strong>Nightingale Estate, Hackney Downs, 1999 </strong>Hackney Council decided that many of their high-rise blocks were failures as housing and decided to blow them up. Of the six towers that made the estate, five were demolished. Since 2003, low-rise buildings have been constructed where the blocks once stood

  • Long Acre, Covent Garden, 1986

    The building was being demolished by a crane swinging an iron ball while two men stood on top of the ruin and finished the job with sledgehammers. There must be an easier was to earn a living
    <strong>Long Acre, Covent Garden, 1986 </strong>The building was being demolished by a crane swinging an iron ball while two men stood on top of the ruin and finished the job with sledgehammers. There must be an easier was to earn a living

  • The Griffin, Shoreditch, 30 June 2007

    Three people smoke their last cigarettes on the final day of legal smoking in public places
    The Griffin, Shoreditch, 30 June 2007 Three people smoke their last cigarettes on the final day of legal smoking in public places

  • Highbury Corner, 7 May 2006

    Three men sit comatose after the last ever football match at Highbury Stadium before Arsenal moved to the new Emirates Stadium in Holloway Road
    <strong>Highbury Corner, 7 May 2006 </strong>Three men sit comatose after the last ever football match at Highbury Stadium before Arsenal moved to the new Emirates Stadium in Holloway Road

  • Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2010

    Suleyman bought this shoe repair shop in 1967, when it was like a time-capsule full of old leather sewing machines and calendars from the 1950s. Even pairs of shoes that were repaired more than 10 years ago but never claimed by their owners were still lying around. He got up at 4am every morning and opened the shop between 7am and 4pm, until it closed recently
    <strong>Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2010 </strong>Suleyman bought this shoe repair shop in 1967, when it was like a time-capsule full of old leather sewing machines and calendars from the 1950s. Even pairs of shoes that were repaired more than ten years ago but never claimed by their owners were still lying around. He got up at 4am every morning and opened the shop between 7am and 4pm, until it closed recently

  • Mare Street, Hackney, 2009

    I always had a soft spot for Woolworths. The first shop opened on the 6 November 1909 and I took this photograph on 6 January 2009, the last day of trading
    <strong>Mare Street, Hackney, 2009</strong> I always had a soft spot for Woolworths. The first shop opened on the 6 November 1909 and I took this photograph on 6 January 2009, the last day of trading

  • Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2008

    A friend took me for a meal one Saturday morning at Jim’s Cafe and it was the best breakfast I had eaten in a long time. I asked Dave, the proprietor, if I could take some pictures and I did shots of him standing in the doorway. When I returned about a month later with the prints, Dave’s wife told me he had died. The cafe closed soon after
    <strong>Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2008 </strong>A friend took me for a meal one Saturday morning at Jim’s Cafe and it was the best breakfast I had eaten in a long time. I asked Dave, the proprietor, if I could take some pictures and I did shots of him standing in the doorway. When I returned about a month later with the prints, Dave’s wife told me he had died and the café closed soon after

  • Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2010

    Steve sits on his stock of tyres in the shop that he and his family ran for more than 50 years. It smelled of rubber and the Michelin man in the window was covered in dust. The shop closed on 2 October 2010, shortly after I took this photograph
    <strong>Chatsworth Road, Hackney, 2010</strong> Steve sits on his stock of tyres in the shop that he and his family ran for more than 50 years. It smelled of rubber and the Michelin man in the window was covered in dust. The shop closed on October 2 2010, shortly after I took this photograph

  • Clapton Pond, Hackney, 2005

    A group pose proudly to have their picture taken on the last day of the Routemaster buses running on the 38 route, from Clapton Pond to Victoria Station
    <strong>Clapton Pond, Hackney, 2005 </strong>A proud group pose to have their picture taken on the last day of the Routemaster buses running on the 38 route, from Clapton Pond to Victoria Station

  • Clerkenwell Fire Station, Rosebery Avenue, 2014

    When Clerkenwell Fire Station closed in January 2014 after 142 years, I photographed the firefighters on their last day of service at Britain’s oldest operating fire station. London Life, by Colin O’Brien, is published by Spitalfields Life Books, and can be purchased here
    <strong>Clerkenwell Fire Station, Rosebery Avenue, 2014 </strong>When Clerkenwell Fire Station closed on January 8 2014, after 142 years, I photographed the firefighters on their last day of service at Britain’s oldest operating fire station
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