Between the wars the 1908 White City Exhibition Grounds and its pavilions were trending towards dereliction. In 1935, part of it was purchased by the London County Council for housing development. The White City Estate was the largest LCC estate to that date. The housing blocks are laid out in a grid, surrounded by grass with numerous mature London plane trees, which predate the buildings.
Commonwealth Avenue, Australia Road, India Way, South Africa Road, and other roads and blocks in the White City estate were named in connection with the exhibition and the empire. The architects were praised for their decision to separate the kitchens from the living areas and for including bathrooms. However, tenants expressed a preference for the traditional “parlour” and were unimpressed with the monotonous layout of the estate.
By the 1970s, a significant portion of White City had fallen into disrepair.
