Reincarnation has long been a way of life for the Roundhouse, a cylindrical building in the Camden section of north London. When the sturdy brick structure, designed by engineer Robert Dockray, went up in 1846, it was a state-of-the-art shed for servicing and turning steam locomotives. But its great turntable, capable of carrying 24 train engines at once, came to a halt less than a decade later as locomotives became too long to fit into the 157-foot-diameter rotunda. Gilbey’s Gin, then newly founded, took over the shed, using it for the next half-century to warehouse barrels of booze. But the wild times really began after the gin-makers were gone: In 1964, playwright Arnold Wesker hit on the idea of turning the long-vacant and derelict Roundhouse into a populist performance venue, called Centre 42.
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