One of the most famous shopping hotspots in Great Britain, and one of Europe's longest and busiest shopping streets, is Oxford Street, which is a street in the West End of London. It is one and a half miles long.
Originally, Oxford Street was called Tyburn Road, and it had this name because the river Tyburn ran underneath it. It first began to develop as a major thoroughfare when prisoners began to be transported from Newgate Prison so that they could be hanged at Tybrun Tree, which now goes by the name of Marble Arch.
Oxford Street got the name that we recognise today in the eighteenth century, when the Earl of Oxford bought Tyburn Road and renamed it with an aim to turn it into a shopping precinct. Although the street has had its share of troubles, as it was bombed during World War Two, it has overcome adversity well. Notably, in 1959 Christmas lights were placed on the street for the first time, and in 2009 a successful project was undertaken to reduce congestion around the Oxford Circus area.
Looking to Covent Garden, its Piazza was a keen centre of market trading from the eighteenth century onwards. In the nineteenth century, the Piazza was converted by Charles Fowler into a Market Building. The Market Building was not only neo-classical in style, but also ended the Piazza's open plan layout and introduced a series of buildings under one complex.
Some attempts have been made to bring back previous buildings in the area that can no longer be seen today, such as Inigo Jones' residential arcades, which Henry Clutton, an architect, tried to recreate when designing buildings for the Duke of Bedford in the 1870s. The Piazza has changed and been restructured numerous times throughout its history, with the main focus of the Piazza in today's times being the Market Building, which boasts a pub, a variety of shops, as well as a selection of restaurants.
The Market Building was designed by the GLC architectural department, and they found that they had to excavate the southern hall to meet fire safety standards, and so now you can find a floor of shops at basement level. The architects also added large lanterns to the building, which have pineapples on top of them, and this is a homage to the previous use of the building.
Another top shopping area in the West End is the Seven Dials, which consists of seven streets. Initially they were called Little and Great Earl Street, Little and Great White Lyon Street, Queen Street, and Little and Great St. Andrew's Street, but over the years their names have changed to Earlham Street, Mercer Street, Shorts Gardens, and Monmouth Street.
Edward Pierce, England's leading stonemason at the time, was commissioned to design and make the centrepiece of the Seven Dials, which was a sundial pillar that was constructed between 1693 and 1694. The pillar had six sundial faces, while the seventh aspect to the piece was considered the column of the sundial. It was considered to be one of the more admired public ornaments in London at the time.
Originally, Oxford Street was called Tyburn Road, and it had this name because the river Tyburn ran underneath it. It first began to develop as a major thoroughfare when prisoners began to be transported from Newgate Prison so that they could be hanged at Tybrun Tree, which now goes by the name of Marble Arch.
Oxford Street got the name that we recognise today in the eighteenth century, when the Earl of Oxford bought Tyburn Road and renamed it with an aim to turn it into a shopping precinct. Although the street has had its share of troubles, as it was bombed during World War Two, it has overcome adversity well. Notably, in 1959 Christmas lights were placed on the street for the first time, and in 2009 a successful project was undertaken to reduce congestion around the Oxford Circus area.
Looking to Covent Garden, its Piazza was a keen centre of market trading from the eighteenth century onwards. In the nineteenth century, the Piazza was converted by Charles Fowler into a Market Building. The Market Building was not only neo-classical in style, but also ended the Piazza's open plan layout and introduced a series of buildings under one complex.
Some attempts have been made to bring back previous buildings in the area that can no longer be seen today, such as Inigo Jones' residential arcades, which Henry Clutton, an architect, tried to recreate when designing buildings for the Duke of Bedford in the 1870s. The Piazza has changed and been restructured numerous times throughout its history, with the main focus of the Piazza in today's times being the Market Building, which boasts a pub, a variety of shops, as well as a selection of restaurants.
The Market Building was designed by the GLC architectural department, and they found that they had to excavate the southern hall to meet fire safety standards, and so now you can find a floor of shops at basement level. The architects also added large lanterns to the building, which have pineapples on top of them, and this is a homage to the previous use of the building.
Another top shopping area in the West End is the Seven Dials, which consists of seven streets. Initially they were called Little and Great Earl Street, Little and Great White Lyon Street, Queen Street, and Little and Great St. Andrew's Street, but over the years their names have changed to Earlham Street, Mercer Street, Shorts Gardens, and Monmouth Street.
Edward Pierce, England's leading stonemason at the time, was commissioned to design and make the centrepiece of the Seven Dials, which was a sundial pillar that was constructed between 1693 and 1694. The pillar had six sundial faces, while the seventh aspect to the piece was considered the column of the sundial. It was considered to be one of the more admired public ornaments in London at the time.
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