Locale: Regent Street

A major shopping thoroughfare sweeping south down from Portland Place in Marylebone, past Oxford Circus Station and Oxford Street, and curving around to Piccadilly Circus. There's an additional short spur running south from there to join Waterloo Place at Pall Mall.

The street was built in the 1830s by John Nash, and commissioned by the Prince Regent. It was built on a grand scale and was originally intended to follow the line of Great Portland Street, but it was recognised that the natural border between Soho and Mayfair was further to the west. It also had the not unintended consequence of clearing a notorious slum area around Swallow Street north of Piccadilly.

It is currently filled largely by large fashion retail chains (such as Zara, H&M, United Colours of Bennetton, Ted Baker, et al.). It used to have a number of large department stores, but now only Liberty remains (which itself is sited just off Regent Street, on Great Marlborough Street). It is also the site of the first Apple Store in the UK.

See also:

Auto-generated list of things on or near Regent Street (view them on a map):

Last edited 2009-01-12 14:04:30 (version 7; diff). List all versions.