Aldgate East tube station

Aldgate East is a London Underground station on Whitechapel High Street in the Whitechapel area of Tower Hamlets. It serves the District and Hammersmith & City lines, linking Whitechapel to the west with Tower Hill and Liverpool Street. The station opened in 1884 to connect the District Railway with Whitechapel and the East London Railway. Steam trains ran until 1905 and 1906, when electric services began. In 1938 the station was rebuilt and moved slightly east, lowering the tracks by two metres to allow longer trains. The rebuilt station introduced eight-car trains in 1939, running eight per hour at peak times between Uxbridge and Barking. By 1941 this service was shortened to Hammersmith trains. In 1990 the Hammersmith–Barking service became the Hammersmith & City line. The station’s cream and blue tiled walls feature relief tiles designed by Harold Stabler in 1936, showing scenes around London. Metal eye bolts in the ceiling mark where the track was held during the rebuild. Visitors enter through four station entrances built into surrounding buildings. The northeastern entrance is part of the Whitechapel Gallery. The platform walls display the 1936 tilework, now replaced with replicas. Passing trains show remains of the old 1884 platform columns and footbridge. The station sits on Whitechapel High Street, close to Whitechapel at 0.82 kilometres, Liverpool Street at 0.92 kilometres and Tower Hill at 0.8 kilometres.