While
ordinary in appearance, at 50 stories, this was the
tallest office building in Europe at the time this
photo was taken. The building's signature is a 130-foot
stainless steel pyramid cap weighing 11 tons. Canada
Square managed to rise in spite of overwhelming odds.
The Canadian company that commissioned it went bankrupt,
bomb threats closed the observation deck, and a real
IRA bomb attack shattered the lower floors. It exists
as a symbol of the area's rebirth. In 1981 the region
consisted of block after block of abandoned industrial
sites. The government set up the London Dockland Development
Corporation to revitalize the area. It offered incentives
for new construction and reuse of urban land. The
Docklands got its own automated rail system (Docklands
Light Railway), and businesses began moving back in.
Some of them high-profile newspapers like the Daily
Telegraph. One Canada Square is now the jewel in the
Corporation's crown. It was sold in 1995 to new owners
(A Canadian-Saudi joint venture) who have kept the
building alive, and continued breathing life into
the local economy. Once just an industrial wasteland,
the Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs Docklands are becoming
fashionable once again.
