Although I work for eviivo, a technology company always looking to the future, I do love a bit of history and heritage. The history of our company is, in travel technology terms, a long one – 10 years and counting – but that’s nothing in ‘proper’ history. So I was delighted to find on Twitter recently a painting of London’s Pentonville Road dating from 1884.
It was painted by Irish born artist John O’Connor, who began his painting career in London theatres and was popular with the Royal Family. The painting is on display at the Museum of London (which is well worth a visit if you’ve not been) and shows the view looking west down Pentonville Road. At the centre of the image is a towering St Pancras station, then only 15 years old, but to the right is something far more interesting – eviivo’s offices!
Back when the picture was painted the eviivo offices were St James’s church, built in 1787. The church was demolished in 1981 and replaced by the current building a few years later, and the modern offices cleverly incorporate elements of the earlier church design. The former churchyard is now a small park and is the burial place of Joseph Grimaldi, a famous actor and clown from the early C19th.
Looking at the ‘then’ and ‘now’ views, much has changed. Cars and busses have replaced trams and horses, high rise buildings have replaced small scale shops and houses. But it remains a busy thoroughfare in a bustling part of London which is fast becoming a centre for rapidly-growing companies. Expedia’s offices are just up the road and Google will soon be moving to nearby Kings Cross. So it looks like for the future, eviivo really will really be at the heart of travel tech.