When past and present collide: London scenes of today overlaid with historical photographs taken in the exact same spot

Museum of London's collection of photographs used as you've never seen them before

Famous landmarks like Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden in 1940s juxtaposed with how they look today


They are the modern, gleaming symbols of London and they are among the most iconic places in the world.

And now Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and other famous capital locations can now been seen in a unique light through computer-generated photographs which juxtapose how they look today with historical views of the same spots.

The incredible images, from the Museum of London's collection, give a tantalising glimpse into events from decades past and, although showing just how much life in the city has changed, most of the landmarks are easily recognisable.

Back to the future: Piccadilly Circus in 1927 juxtaposed with how it looks today. The image is part of a stunning series of pictures from the Museum of London's collection which give a unique glimpse into the city's past

Past and present: An anti-union protester is marched away in Trafalgar Square in 1962, while the same fate befell suffragette Emily Pankhurst, who failed in her attempt to hand a petition to the King at Buckingham Palace

Devastation: The Royal Exchange in Bank as seen after a bomb was dropped 1941 and as it looks today Historical: Back in the days when the River Thames used to freeze, in the 17th-century, as people and animals slide around on the ice

Piccadilly Circus has changed little since 1953, where a soldier is seen getting his shoes polished, while Pattiserie Valerie is pictured in Soho in 1926 and remains at the exact same spot today.

There are pictures of anti-union protests in Trafalgar Square in 1962, while Bank Station is shown after a bomb was dropped nearby in 1941.

Music-lovers are seen queuing for a festival at Hyde Park in 1970, a venue which still attracts big acts today.

Life: Ladies sell flowers at Covent Garden in 1877, left, and the Hippodrome in Leicester Square is a hive of activity in 1930, when it was one of the capital's major venues



Trade: Sugar being hoisted into warehouses at West India Docks, east London in 1900. Now, the buildings of Canary Wharf gleam in the background in an area which has seen enormous change

Transport: The clothes and vehicles are different but the station is exactly the same at Piccadilly Circus as a soldier gets his shoes polished there in 1953

Opposite Old Change in 1930 running from Cheapside. The street was lost, as was the church, though its tower remains. The area is now called New Change

During the 'swinging 60s', Carnaby Street boasted many fashionable boutiques including John Stephen (right). Stephen opened his first shop in 1963 and went on to own nine more in Carnaby Street alone

The collapsing front of Nos. 23 & 25 Queen Victoria Street, caused by the German bombing raid on the City of London on the night of 10th May 1941

Bankside Power station under construction in 1952. The power station closed in 1981 and the building has been home to the Tate Modern art gallery since 1995. The Shard now dominates the skyline nearby

In the days when the River Thames used to freeze, numerous figures - both animal and human - are seen amusing themselves, skating, sliding and snowballing in 1677.

Old London Bridge in in the middle distance and beyond it is the tower of St Olave's Tooley Street and Southwark Cathedral.

Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst is seen being led away by police as she tries to present a petition to the king outside Buckingham Palace in 1914.

The incredible images can be seen on the museum's Street Museum App.

A young girl walks down Brick Lane in 1978, which is now home to one of London's largest Asian communities and is the place to go for a curry

Construction site to the west of Waterloo Bridge and the foot of Savoy Street. The Victoria Embankment and the Metropolitan District Line were constructed simultaneously in 1868

The same shop has stood in this Soho street for the best part of a century and has barely changed at all