City Hall from Tower Bridge - 26.8.2008

I'd prefer to see the view before City Hall!

I have a book of photos of the Thames riverside called London's Lost Riverscape. It was commissioned by the Port of London Authority in 1937. That stretch of wharves must have been among the least picturesque or even characterful of all the docklands. They are a real jumble with very utilitarian styles. The ones that have been been turned into high-end apartments are the better looking ones around St.Saviour's Dock and Hays Wharf. At least the Southwark riverside has a bit of cohesion and comparable scale, the Shard apart. Just look across the River and look at the chaos the City fathers have allowed.
On a smaller scale there are lots of interesting artworks and building decorations around in Southwark, which you can see in my Public Art in Southwark album - www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/album/500883

Sorry, but I don't see anything picturesque about this glass lump!

I didn't call it picturesque, but then neither were its predecessors on that site. You have to look hard to find real 'picturesque' in London now. If it hasn't been knocked down and rebuilt, it has been sanitized or gentrified.