London, The Unfinished City.

London Docklands It must be hard to imagine for those of a younger generation, but if you had walked east from Tower Bridge up until the late twentieth century, you would have found yourself surrounded by sprawling docks with stevedores unloading produce from around the world, from all types of ships. The sights and smells would have been intoxicating as you negotiated your way east. St Katharine Docks, the westernmost of London's docks, would have given way to London Docks and then to the smaller Regent's Canal Dock at Limehouse. The nearby Limehouse Cut is London's oldest canal, having opened in 1766. From here, the vast West India Docks, which took up much of the Isle of Dogs, would have led you to the East India Docks and, eventually, the Royal Docks. Meanwhile, on the south bank of the River Thames, the grand warehouses and jetties at Butler's Wharf, along with the cranes opposite the Tower of London, were just as busy. Furthermore, the Surrey Commercial Docks on t...