Summary : Manor House was one of the stations opened on the first section of the Piccadilly line extension. This first section was 4.47 miles from Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove, opened on 19th September 1932 to the designs of Charles Holden. The tube station was excavated below the intersection of Seven Sisters Road and Green Lanes. Access to the subsurface ticket hall was via nine stairways located at various points around the road junction, and the only ground level structures were a tram shelter on Green Lanes and a tram station on Seven Sisters Road by which interchange between road and Underground services could be made completely under cover. The subsurface ticket hall was designed around the most efficient flow of traffic, which resulted in an asymmetrical plan with no wasted corners or spaces; and 'dead' areas were utilised for the installation of kiosks or other facilities. The ceiling was decorated with a pattern or circular mouldings which fitted the awkward shape. The tunnels were lined to give an elliptical profile enabling furniture and equipment to be recessed without disturbing the general line and also lessening the distortion of posters on the walls. Wall surfaces were finished with biscuit-cream tiles, relieved by narrow bands of blue tiles around the archways, tunnel mouth and recesses, and with further bands along the platform and trackside. |