From Highbury to high-end flats
As Arsenal clash with Liverpool at Anfield in a crucial Premier League match today, we wander around North London to look at the legendary same-old-brand-new Highbury Stadium
Highbury (left) in 2005 and (right) 2010
PHOTOS: Arsenal.com
The North Bank Stand of Highbury in 2005, a year before its demolition (left); Highbury Square, 2011
PHOTOS: Wikimedia Commons
Highbury, or Arsenal’s former stadium has seen a lot of changes since it was first built in 1913. But perhaps the biggest change came when the beloved home of the gunners was redeveloped as residential apartments – Highbury Square – in 2006 following a move to the Emirates Stadium on Hornsey Road, as it stands today.
Designed by Archibald Leitch, who is credited with designing stadiums for Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool among many others, the site used to be the playing fields of St. John’s College of Divinity. Initially, the lease agreement is said to have stipulated that there would no matches played during Christmas and Good Friday; alcohol was also prohibited. These stipulations were dropped within a year into the move.
North Bank construction at Highbury in 1931 PHOTO: Arsenal.Com
The stadium, known for its small, immaculate pitch, was notorious to football rivals for bringing the “intimidating” fans very close to the match. However, flanked on all sides by residential areas and restrictions on further constructions, expansion for its ever-growing fan base proved difficult. In 1999, Arsenal decided to leave for new grounds to nearby Ashburton Grove and by 2004 the Emirates Stadium was conceived, officially opening in July 2006.
Highbury is where football legends were born, cheered on by generations of fans for close to a century. Who could forget Gunners legend Thierry Henry’s hattrick in the fitting final game in 2006 at Highbury against Wigan Athletic, as Arsenal won 4-2 securing a UEFA Champions League spot. The gates closed on the stadium after an emotional season on Sunday, May 7, 2006.
Thierry Henry at the last game in Highbury against Wigan Athletic, 2006 PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons
Today, far from the madding crowds of fans, Highbury sits still as Highbury square, a residential complex with over 600 flats and a pitch that has been transformed into a modern minimalist garden intersected by glass walls with flowing water. Parts of the stands and players’ tunnel remain intact. The art deco East and West Stand, listed as grade-II buildings are also still preserved with the new apartments incorporated into the design. The rest of the stands were removed.
Inside Highbury Square PHOTO: Arsenal.Com
You can barely peek into the gated community now, but if you get close enough to the walls you might still hear the sound of generations of fans screaming “Gunners for Life!”.
For an amazing collection of Highbury photos from 1931-1967, visit this page
For more on Arsenal, visit the official site here
