Improvements including Garage, Olympia

OLYMPIA IMPROVEMENTS It is expected to complete by the autumn the £250,000 scheme of Mr. Joseph Emberton, F.R.1.B.A., for the improvement of Olympia. The Addison Road entrance and the adjoining offices have entirely disappeared, and in their place a vestibule, four times the size of the old one, is being constructed, reaching from the pavement to the hall and having a covered way to the railway station. Another enclosed walk, 160 yards long by 20 feet wide, will give shelter from Hammersmith Road direct into Olympia. At the entrance to the National Hall in Hammersmith Road a canopy is being erected over the footpath. The Empire Hall is being remodelled in order to provide the fullest space for all types of exhibitions. The important internal changes here involve the removal of the central stairways, their place being taken by up and down escalators to convey 4,000people an hour to all the floors, while six large lifts will also be available for the public. The alterations in the Empire Hall provide a light well three times the present size. The reconstruction of Olympia provides over 500,000 sq. ft. for exhibition purposes, enabling every variety of manufacture, from heavy machinery in motion to the lightest of fancy goods, to be shown to the best advantage. Immediately adjoining the halls and reached under cover will be a six-storeyed service garage to hold 650 motor cars. [Architects Journal 13 August 1936 page 202]