When taking a walk down Hoe Street in London’s north-east, you may notice an intriguing building- one that is seemingly abandoned and does not fit well into the modern landscape of Walthamstow. Its purpose - a seemingly functional telephone exchange, which has the purpose of delivering telecommunication services to local homes. As exciting as this sounds, it’s been causing plenty of speculation amidst locals, who have trouble believing that a building with such high security (from what could be seen past its late fifties decor, there were four doors to get through to enter) has such a simple function. This has led to conspiracists investigating the premises and forming their own ideas of why this decaying, highly protected building situated in a quiet corner of Walthamstow exists, and what it could possibly be used for. Emma, age 16, belongs to the aforementioned group of young conspiracists. When asked about her thoughts on whether the simple telephone exchange had a more mysterious use, she replied with “Although the telephone exchange appears to be just another semi-abandoned building, I think it's hiding something far more secretive, and with the evidence complied so far it seems a certainty that this building is more than it seems.” She goes on to talk about her ideas of the usage of this building, saying that “from careful observation, we believe it could be anything from a simple storage space, to a secret governmental building used for malicious purposes. Others speculate there may even be ties to the paranormal.” Ultimately, the true intended use of this building, if it in fact has a use at all, remains a mystery. It can be said however, that whatever the answer may be, it’s truly fascinating how a simple piece of brutalist architecture can trigger such interest in locals.
By Ekaterina Krupnitskaya
