The images below illustrate my podcast about Walter Kerr, The Limelight King. Listen on ???? This first picture shows Kerr's future premises - The Cottage (behind the arch on the left) - when it formed part of the Adam brothers' Adelphi complex. At the time, Old Father Thames was literally feet away from The Cottage's front door.
In the mid-1800s, the river was pushed back from the Adelphi frontage by the Thames Embankment. On the plan below, the thick black line shows how much land the Embankment claimed.
Soon after the Embankment was built, Walter Kerr moved into The Cottage and built his Limelight Factory in the yard outside. The premises are shown on this plan from 1888. The Limelight Factory is marked as an "Oxygen Factory" and Kerr's offices are marked by the red dot.
Sadly, no photographs can be found of Walter Kerr's Limelight Factory in its heyday. By the time a photographer finally visited the site in 1936, the buildings were abandoned and dilapidated. They were demolished soon afterwards.
Below are the premises of the Limelight King as they look today. The first picture shows the upper entrance to the property on Adelphi Terrace. The second was taken on the lower level, at the end of Savoy Place. The parking spaces occupy part of the former Limelight Factory yard.
If you have any photographs or other information about Walter Kerr, the Limelight King, please share them!