Elephants! Elephants everywhere!
A colleague, recounting a tale of his past, happened to mention a building (that was sort-of central to the story) that I’d never come across.
Perhaps you have, but if not, let me introduce the Coventry Central Baths & Elephant.
Yes. “…& Elephant.”
I mean, you can see why.
The planning department in Coventry must’ve been quite a place to work in the early 1960’s (not just for this remarkable thing. I happened across a review on here of a Ladybird edition dedicated to the city’s architectural vision, produced contemporaneously. Such vision. If a little flawed, human-scale-wise.)
We still talk of ‘elephants in the room’ a lot. In fact, can’t think if a project that wasn’t shadowed by the elephantLurker.
But can you imagine the conversations around the development in the home of Lady Godiva?
Amazingly, the Coventry Central Baths & Elephant still stands, i.e. it hasn’t gone on fire. Yet. Tricky when the hulking thing is Grade II listed… but not impossible.
Unlike many of its contemporary white elephants - which, as an aside, I also never knew the origin of, so accordingly I looked it up. Is an n old Thai custom of “gifting rare, expensive-to-keep (very, very pale) elephants to the reigning monarch.”
Quite how the idea was transposed to buildings as a burdensome asset is less clear. UNTIL YOU SEE COVENTRY’S ELEPHANT, maybe? Seems quite obvious with hindsight.
Anyway, the sad news is that no-one can see a use for the aging pachydermBuilding.
Or rather, no-one appears to have the where-with-all to fund what really needs to happen- (imo) to re-open it as a sports hall.
Hope someone can step in, before another amazing piece of the city-scape ends up in the elephants graveyard.
Hat-tip to @MaxTuttle for the lovely story that kicked this off.
#architecture #coventry #listedbuildings #elephants #sixtiesUK #planning #renovation #projects
Electrical Systems Specialist
1moBut what are you doing about the city’s failing water infrastructure?!?