After the success of last year’s Open House London, breaking records for attendance in its 25th year, the festival returns this September with more opportunities to explore the architecture and history of London.
More than 800 buildings will open their doors for the citywide celebration on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 of September.
From 10am to 4pm on both days, Shoreditch Town Hall will welcome the public inside for free tours and refreshments. There will also be an opportunity to purchase our history book, More Light, More Power: 150 Years of Shoreditch Town Hall.
Come and experience the building’s unique history through its spaces. Featuring a range of contrasting spaces, the public are invited to explore the grand Assembly Hall and the untouched rabbit warren of basement rooms in this exclusive opportunity.
The magnificent Grade II listed building was originally opened in 1865 and designed by Caesar Augustus Long as a civic space. Later additions to the building in 1889 and 1904 made the building a popular music hall and boxing venue. Only as recently as 1996, the Town Hall was placed on the ‘Buildings at Risk’ register by English Heritage. But the hard work of the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust ensured it reopened in 2004.
An artistic programme which welcomes 70,000 people each year was introduced in 2012 and £2.3m of capital investment has allowed the Town Hall has rapidly established itself as a vital, non-traditional arts space.
The eight main spaces are now home to emerging talent and site-responsive theatre, where unique, transformational experiences are made for and by the building’s distinctive, characteristic spaces.
For more information on Open House London, visit our website.
