<P> The Elephant was the centre of the target zone for the German air raids on London on 10 May 1941 and suffered "raging fires". </P> <P> The major development of the 1960s consisted of post-war reconstruction to a larger metropolitan plan, much of it replacing properties destroyed by bombing in World War II . Alexander Fleming House (1959), originally a group of government office blocks and now Metro Central Heights residential complex, is a prime example of the work of the Hungarian modernist architect Ernő Goldfinger . </P> <P> The shopping centre, designed by Boissevain & Osmond for the Willets Group, was opened in March 1965 . It was the first covered shopping mall in Europe, with 120 shops on three levels and a two - storey underground car - park . In the sales brochure (1963), Willets claimed it to be the "largest and most ambitious shopping venture ever to be embarked upon in London . In design planning and vision it represents an entirely new approach to retailing, setting standards for the sixties that will revolutionise shopping concepts throughout Britain ." When it opened, budget restrictions meant that the proportions and finishes of the building had had to be scaled down and only 29 out of a possible 120 shops were trading . </P> <P> The Elephant is the location of the London College of Communication, formerly the London College of Printing, an internationally renowned dedicated college, part of University of the Arts London . The present structure was constructed during the redevelopment of the area in the early 1960s . </P>

When was elephant and castle shopping centre built
find me the text answering this question