Sunday 19 November 2017

Michelin House

This is Michelin House on the corner of Fulham Road and Sloane Ave. It opened in 1911 as the headquarters of Michelin tyres in the UK. When opened it used to have fitting bays where the cars were driven in to have their tyres changes. Over 30,000 tyres were stored in the basement


I'm not sure what style you would call this except eye catching. No longer owned by Michelin it was bought jointly by Sir Terence Conran, the retailer and Paul Hamlyn, the publisher.













They restored some of the original features and put in a restaurant and Oyster bar called Bibendum as well as offices and a Conran shop.





There are three large stained glass windows featuring 'Bibendum' the Michelin man/ Unfortunately these are not the original windows which were taken down for safe keeping during the war and sent to the Michelin factory in Stoke on Trent. When it was time for them to be returned they could not be found. A mystery that has still not been solved.

At the front of the building are these two pinnacles made to look like tyres.





A ceramic tyre has been used elsewhere in the decoration.











On both sides of the building just above head height are decorative tiles showing famous racing cars that used Michelin tyres.


















24 comments:

  1. The architectural style is marvelous!

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  2. That's an interesting architectural prize. Is the restaurant any good?

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  3. It looks like such a fun building to explore.

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  4. This is very interesting.. it seems the design of the building is a mixture of many things...

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  5. Wonderful. I must see this someday.

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  6. Nice to see this place. You are still teaching me about new places to maybe see someday. :-)

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  7. A window mystery involving war, fat tires and windows. Intriguing!

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  8. I love those car displays. Although that one motorbike looks incredibly uncomfortable!!

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  9. What an intriguing building - I've never seen a stained-glass Michelin Man before!

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  10. Hello, I like the tiles with the cars. It is a neat old building. Strange about the missing windows. Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  11. Can WS still buy Michelin tyres? They had the reputation of being long lived, unlike many of today's products.

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  12. What a beautiful building and its restoration is wonderful ~ Great photos ~

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)
    Happy Thanksgiving coming in USA

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  13. Definitely an eye catching building and I really like the depictions of the old cars. Tanks for taking the time to show all these wonderful things that those of us on the other side of the world don't have a chance to see for ourselves.

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  14. I love old buildings and the details on this make it a treasure. Thanks for taking me on a little tour!

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  15. ...what wonderful building, the murals are great. I invite you to share this post at Tuesday's Treasures.

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  16. Fascinating! I know where this is but have obviously been so awake whenever I've passed that I had no idea it was there. It's amazing - curious that the windows disappeared; I wonder if they will emerge one day, like a long-losdt painting?! I'm guessing the building was bought for an inflated price...

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    1. inflated price...ha ha ha!
      Kay
      An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  17. That was the era when large companies made impressive buildings and fronts for their factories. - Margy

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  18. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. If I had tried for a hundred years (or even 60) to imagine a Michelin factory, I'd never have dreamed it could be like this.
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  19. It is si good that they have kept a lot of the original decorations. It is an interesting mystery about the stained glass windows.

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  20. How interesting ! I have certainly seen this building but never paid attention ! Next Wednesday I am off for 2 weeks Egypt. Only sea, sun and swimming ! Nothing else. I really need it !

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  21. the building looks better then I would have expected :)

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  22. Hi! The Michelin house looks very cool.I enjoyed your post very much. There are nany historical buildings in your country. Michelin is very famous for the restaurant guide books in our country.

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