THE re-opening of the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm came a step closer on Tuesday when staff celebrated the topping out of its new wing.
The Victorian Grade II-listed train shed is being turned into a £28-million youth arts centre and performance venue. Backers hope that from next year it will cater for 10,000 young people a year.
The new entrance wing will house the centre’s offices, box office, café, hospitality suites and cloakrooms, leaving the main roundhouse space completely open for performances.
Roundhouse chief executive Marcus Davey said: “This is an important landmark in our progress to opening.”
The Roundhouse hosted gigs by the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors in the 1960s and 70s but remained shut between 1983 and 1996, when philanthropist Torquil Norman bought it and began his redevelopment plans.
The main building will have the largest suspended roof of its kind.
Pictured: Marcus Davey opens champagne on the roof with, from left, construction workers Mahesh Parmar, Dave Weale and Bjorn Watson.