A "beautiful" Art Deco garage that was once a north London landmark has been reconstructed for an exhibition at Swiss Cottage library.
With its illuminated clock tower, the Blue Star Garage at the corner of Hendon Way and Finchley Road was built in the 1930s in the burgeoning age of motoring.
Known locally as 'The Tower,' it served drivers filling up on their way to 'the North' and was later remodelled - still with a clock tower.
The Esso petrol station once featured in an episode of Top Gear where an Audi A8 began its journey to Edinburgh, completing the entire trip on just one tank of fuel.
But it fell into disuse, the site was razed in 2015 and two years later planning permission was granted by Barnet Council for a block of flats.
It was a glimpse of an ivy covered Art Deco pillar that inspired teacher and artist Joe Frazer to explore the site's history. The former King Alfred pupil grew up and still lives not far from the former garage.
He said: "I grew up around West Hampstead and it was well known locally as The Tower. As a student I have memories of popping down at 1am to pick up cigarettes and that mix of excitement and eeriness of this forecourt space.
"I didn't realise there had been this beautiful Art Deco filling station there until I stumbled across the original pillar covered in ivy.
"That was my entry point to search the archives where I found the original architect plans and correspondence between local neighbours complaining about the height of the ramp which allowed access to the upper floor showroom."
Frazer, whose previous show focused on a car park in Elstree and Borehamwood, has started a YouTube channel showing tours of car parks.
He is interested in architectural models as an archive artform and wonders whether, as our relationship with motoring changes, we should start listing more 'carchitecture.'
His show at Swiss Cottage Library Blue Star Model Garage touches on the interplay between nostalgia for lost landmarks and their redevelopment and consists of a postcard rack of memories, a model of the art deco pillars made out of matchsticks, a reclaimed blue star sign, and a 1:76 model of the Blue Star Garage and Petrol Station.
"The filling station was built at the height and excitement of the motoring age just before the war. It became a local landmark a reference point that is no longer there," he adds.
"I was interested in the nostalgia for this local architecture and what we do with these spaces that are no longer functional.
"It's interesting that the exhibition is in this beautiful Basil Spence library at the other end of Finchley Road - a building that is still being used today for what it was built for."
Frazer would like to hear from people who have personal memories of the original garage or perhaps took their car to be repaired there.
He is glad that the development of flats, which was stalled for a while but has now restarted, incorporates a clock feature into the design.
"It shows how much the previous building was part of the public consciousness."
Blue Star Model Garage is a free exhibition running at Swiss Cottage Library until September 20.
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