History
Arsenal tube station was opened by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR) as Gillespie Road on 15 December 1906. The GNP&BR later renamed the Piccadilly line after the consolidation & nationalisation of the Tube network as London Underground. The original station building and ticket hall were red terracotta-clad buildings designed by Leslie Green, similar to neighbouring Holloway Road and Caledonian Road stations.
At the time of Gillespie Road's construction, it served a residential area and a local divinity college. In 1913, Arsenal Football Club moved to Highbury on the site of the college's playing fields, and the club's presence there eventually led to a campaign for a change of name. Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman was a particularly keen advocate, and on 5 November 1932 it was renamed Arsenal (Highbury Hill). The station was expanded in the 1930s, with the original station building demolished and being replaced with a wider building of a more modern design.
The (Highbury Hill) suffix was dropped from the station's name some time around 1960, giving the current name of Arsenal. The original tiled walls of the platforms still bear the Gillespie Road name, spelt out in large letters. In 2007, the station underwent a major upgrade; as part of this the wall tiling was completely restored, the floor resurfaced and an electronic Tannoy system introduced.
Read more about this topic: Arsenal Tube Station
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