Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is the secondary central business district of London (after the City of London) on the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. After the City of London, it is one of the main financial centres in the United Kingdom and the world, containing many high-rise buildings including the third-tallest in the UK, One Canada Square.
Developed on the site of the former West India Docks, Canary Wharf contains around of office and retail space. It comprises many open areas, including Canada Square, Cabot Square and Westferry Circus. Together with Heron Quays and Wood Wharf, it forms the Canary Wharf Estate, around in area.
History.
Canary Wharf is located on the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs.
From 1802 to the late 1980s, what would become the Canary Wharf Estate was a part of the Isle of Dogs (Millwall), Limehouse, and Poplar and was one of the busiest docks in the world. West India Docks was primarily developed by Robert Milligan (c. 1746–1809) who set up the West India Dock Company.
The Port of London Authority was established in 1909 and took control of West India Dock. Canary Wharf itself takes its name from No. 32 berth of the West Wood Quay of the Import Dock. This was built in 1936 for Fruit Lines Ltd, a subsidiary of Fred Olsen Lines for the Mediterranean and Canary Islands fruit trade. The Canary islands were so named after the large dogs found there by the Spanish (Canarias from Canine) and as it is located on the Isle of Dogs, the quay and warehouse were given the name Canary Wharf.
After the 1960s, the port industry began to decline, leading to all the docks being closed by 1980.After the docks closed in 1980, the British Government adopted policies to stimulate redevelopment of the area, including the creation of the [[London Docklands Development Corporation]] (LDDC) in 1981 and the granting of [[Urban Enterprise Zone]] status to the Isle of Dogs in 1982.
The Canary Wharf of today began when [[Michael von Clemm]], former chairman of [[Credit Suisse First Boston]] (CSFB), came up with the idea to convert Canary Wharf into a [[back office]]. Further discussions with [[G Ware Travelstead]] led to proposals for a new business district and included the LDDC developing a cheap light metro scheme, called the [[Docklands Light Railway]], to make use of a large amount of redundant railway infrastructure and to improve access.
The project was sold to the Canadian company [[Olympia & York]] and construction began in 1988, master-planned by [[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill]] with [[Yorke Rosenberg Mardall]] as their UK advisors, and subsequently by Koetter Kim. The first buildings were completed in 1991, including [[1 Canada Square]], which became the UK's tallest building at the time and a symbol of the regeneration of Docklands. By the time it opened, the London commercial property market had collapsed, and Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited filed for bankruptcy in May 1992.
Initially, the City of London saw Canary Wharf as an existential threat. It modified its planning laws to expand the provision of new offices in the City of London, for example, creating offices above railway stations (Blackfriars) and roads ([[125 London Wall|Alban Gate]]). The resulting oversupply of office space contributed to the failure of the Canary Wharf project.
In October 1995, an international consortium that included investors such as [[Alwaleed]], bought control for $1.2 billion. [[Paul Reichmann]] was named chairman, and Canary Wharf went public in 1999. The new company was called Canary Wharf Limited, and later became [[Canary Wharf Group]].
In 1997, some residents living on the Isle of Dogs launched a lawsuit against Canary Wharf Ltd for private nuisance because the tower interfered with TV signals. The residents lost the case.
Recovery in the property market generally, coupled with continuing demand for large floorplate Grade A office space, slowly improved the level of interest. A critical event in the recovery was the much-delayed start of work on the [[Jubilee Line Extension]], which the government wanted ready for the [[Millennium]] celebrations.
In March 2004, Canary Wharf Group plc. was taken over by a consortium of investors, backed by its largest shareholder Glick Family Investments and led by [[Morgan Stanley]] using a vehicle named Songbird Estates plc.
Tallest buildings.
This table lists completed buildings in Canary Wharf that are at least 100 metres tall.
Corporations and Agencies.
Canary Wharf contains around of office and retail space, of which around (about 49%) is owned by [[Canary Wharf Group]]. Around 105,000 people work in Canary Wharf, and it is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks, professional services firms, and media organisations, including [[Barclays]], [[Citigroup]], [[Clifford Chance]], [[Credit Suisse]], [[Ernst & Young|EY]], [[Fitch Ratings]], [[HSBC]], [[Infosys]], [[JPMorgan Chase]], [[KPMG]], [[MetLife]], [[Moody's]], [[Morgan Stanley]], [[Royal Bank of Canada|RBC]], [[Deutsche Bank]], [[S&P Global]], [[Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom|Skadden]], [[State Street Corporation|State Street]], [[The Economist Group]], and [[Thomson Reuters]]. Until 2018, Canary Wharf also hosted two [[European Union]] agencies, [[European Medicines Agency]] and [[European Banking Authority]], that moved to Amsterdam and Paris respectively due to [[Brexit]].
Leisure.
[[West India Quay]]s and [[Poplar Dock]] are two [[marina]]s that are used as [[Mooring (watercraft)|mooring]]s for barges and private leisure river craft and is owned by the [[Canal & River Trust]].
A local [[public library]], called Idea Store Canary Wharf, is in Churchill Place [[shopping mall]] and run by [[Tower Hamlets Council]] which opened on Thursday 16 March 2006 as part of the Idea Store project and is the borough fourth Idea Store.
Canary Wharf hosts two [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]]es (cinemas), one on [[West India Quay]] run by [[Cineworld]]. and another at [[Crossrail Place]] called Everyman Cinema.
Areas.
[[Canada Square]] is one of the central squares at Canary Wharf. It is a large open space with grass, except during the winter when it is converted into an ice rink. The square is named after Canada, because the original developers of modern Canary Wharf, Olympia & York, wanted to reflect their heritage. Underneath the square is Canada Place shopping mall.
[[Westferry Circus]] is on the west side of Canary Wharf. It is a garden at ground level, and below is a roundabout allowing traffic to flow through. The garden is enclosed by bespoke hand-crafted ornamental railings and entrance gates by artist Giuseppe Lund. The area has a long history, dating back to 1812, when the Poplar and Greenwich Roads Company operated a horse ferry between [[Greenwich]] and the Isle of Dogs. It operated on the West Ferry and East Ferry Roads, which the names survived. Westferry Circus was chosen as the name for the roundabout and park by virtue of its proximity to Westferry Road.
[[Cabot Square]] is one of the biggest squares at Canary Wharf, with a large fountain at the centre. The inner perimeter has additional fountains covered by trees. The square has large circular glass ventilation holes to allow gases to escape from the underneath car park. The square is named after [[John Cabot]] and his son Sebastian, who were Italian explorers who settled in England in 1484.
Churchill Place is an area on the east side of Canary Wharf. It is named after [[Winston Churchill]].
A small square on the west side of Canary Wharf named after [[Christopher Columbus]]. The first phase of Canary Wharf was completed in 1992, 500 years after Columbus arrived in America.
A passageway south of Cabot Square. Named after [[Richard Chancellor]] who sailed with Sir John Willoughby from Greenwich on their voyage through the White Sea to Moscow.
Small area north of Cabot Square. Leads to North Dock footbridge towards Port East. Named after British architect [[Christopher Wren]].
Local government elections.
Every four years, residents of Canary Wharf ward elect two councillors to represent them on [[Tower Hamlets Council]]. 
Transport.
Canary Wharf is served by London-wide, regional, national and international transport connections.
Rail.
Canary Wharf is in [[London fare zone 2]], and several stations can be found throughout the estate.
[[File:Canary Wharf Tube Station (28015542538).jpg|thumb|233x233px|[[Canary Wharf tube station]] on the [[Jubilee line]]]]
Stations in Canary Wharf only offer direct connections to London and Berkshire destinations. Regional and national [[National Rail]] connections can be found elsewhere in London, including at [[Liverpool Street station|Liverpool Street]], [[Lewisham station|Lewisham]], [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]], [[Stratford station|Stratford]], [[Stratford International station|Stratford International]] and [[London Waterloo station|Waterloo]].
Road.
[[File:A1020 Lower Lea Crossing - geograph.org.uk - 1362713.jpg|thumb|236x236px|The [[A1020 road|A1020]] Lower Lea Crossing, heading towards Canary Wharf. A [[shared use path]] for cycles and pedestrians also crosses the bridge.]]
Major roads near Canary Wharf include:
Air pollution.
[[File:London MMB «V5 Canary Wharf.jpg|alt=A large building heads up into the sky. Only a portion of the building is visible, as the top is engulfed in a thick fog.|left|thumb|267x267px|Low cloud and fog at Canary Wharf.]]
[[Transport for London]] (TfL) and the [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]] monitor the air quality around Canary Wharf.
In 2017, an automatic monitoring station in Blackwall found that local air quality failed to meet [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|UK National Air Quality Objectives]], recording an annual average [[Nitrogen dioxide|Nitrogen Dioxide]] (NO2) concentration of 56 μg/m3 ([[microgram]]s per [[cubic metre]]). The National Objective is set by the government at 40 μg/m3.
Alternative stations nearer Canary Wharf recorded cleaner air. Monitors at the Limehouse Link/Westferry Road junction and on Prestons Road recorded a 2017 annual average NO2 concentration of 40 μg/m3, which Tower Hamlets argue fails to meet the UK National Objective.
Buses.
[[London Buses]] routes [[London Buses route 135|135]], [[London Buses route 277|277]], D3, D7, D8, N277 and N550 call at bus stops near Canary Wharf. Bus 135 links Canary Wharf directly to [[Liverpool Street bus station|Liverpool Street]] in the City of London, and bus D8 to [[Stratford bus station|Stratford]].
[[File:London MMB «P3 Canary Wharf Pier.jpg|left|thumb|266x266px|[[Canary Wharf Pier]]]]
Riverboat.
Several [[London River Services|Riverboat]] services call at [[Canary Wharf Pier]], including:
Tower, London Bridge City and Blackfriars are in the [[City of London]]. Oyster Cards are valid for travel on [[London River Services|TfL-coordinated riverboat services]].
Airports.
[[London City Airport]] is 3 miles from Canary Wharf. Over 4.8 million passengers passed through City Airport in 2018. The airport serves domestic and international destinations, including [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York]].
[[London City Airport DLR station|London City Airport]] is on the DLR. Passengers from Canary Wharf can change trains at [[Poplar DLR station|Poplar]] for services to the Airport.
Cycling.
The [[Canary Wharf Group]], [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]] and [[Transport for London]] (TfL) provide [[cycling infrastructure]] in and around Canary Wharf. Several leisure and commuter routes pass through or near the estate, including:
[[File:Cable Street cycle superhighway.jpg|thumb|269x269px|[[Cycle Superhighway 3]] passes to the north of Canary Wharf and links the estate to the [[City of London]], [[Westminster]] and [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] on a predominantly [[Cycle track|traffic-free route]].]]
Culture.
Opened in 2003, the [[Museum of London Docklands]] is one of the main attractions in the area.
Canary Wharf has been reported since 2017 as part of the [[Pokémon Go]] [[augmented reality]] game to being the home for the most wanted Pokémon gyms in London including [[Canary Wharf DLR station]] and Montgomery Square.
[[Canary Wharf Group]] published an official Pokémon map for PokéStop's and Pokémon Gyms, the managing director for retail Camille Waxer said in 2016 that Pokémon Go has serious potential to attract new audiences to the area, particularly food and drink outlets are seeing an increase in footfall.
Canary Wharf hosts the "Winter Lights" art installations each January.
Canary Wharf features in both the Doctor Who and Torchwood franchises as the fictional base of the Torchwood Institute, an organization created by Queen Victoria to combat extraterrestrial threats. Canary Wharf features heavily as the staging post for the 2006 Cyberman invasion of Earth and is heavily damaged during a resulting battle between the Cybermen and the Daleks.
[[Thom Yorke]] of [[Radiohead]], during their concert Live at the Astoria in May 1994, explained their song "[[Fake Plastic Trees]]" is about Canary Wharf.
External links.
[[Category:Canary Wharf| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Financial districts in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Redevelopment projects in London]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Economy of London]]
[[Category:Geography of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:Major centres of London]]
[[Category:Central business districts in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Privately owned public spaces]]