Until the mid-1960s Canary Wharf was a warehouse storing exotic goods from the Canary Islands in Docklands, at the heart of one of the world’s largest and busiest ports.
But, by the end of the 1970s, all that was over — the docks had closed down and the area had become an urban wasteland. Proposals for regeneration of the area were derided by many and when, in 1988, foundation work began at Canary Wharf, it was widely assumed that whatever emerged on it was sure to become a white elephant. But things have turned out somewhat differently.
In 1991, the first tenants moved in and Canary Wharf is now one of Europe’s premier business districts. The iconic pyramid-topped main tower is the tallest in Britain at 244 metres and rises above an underground shopping mall which is the second largest within the M25. Canary Wharf now boasts a skyline that would not look out of place alongside that of Manhattan as more and more companies move to this prestigious location, home already to some 80,000 workers.
