Great Portland Street - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Great Portland Street is a street in the West End

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Linking Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

with Albany Street

Albany Street

Albany Street is a road in London running from Marylebone Road to Gloucester Gate following the east side of Regent's Park. It is about three-quarters of a mile in length....

and the busy A501 Marylebone Road

Marylebone Road

Marylebone Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east-west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington...

and Euston Road

Euston Road

Euston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...

, the road forms the boundary between Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...

to the east and Marylebone

Marylebone

Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....

to the west. In administrative terms it lies in the City of Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

's Marylebone High Street

Marylebone High Street

Marylebone High Street is a shopping street in London, running sub-parallel to Baker Street and terminating at its northern end at the junction with the Marylebone Road...

Ward.

Long sections Great Portland Street fall within two Westminster City Council

Westminster City Council

Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...

areas of preservation (Harley Street Conservation Area and East Marylebone Conservation Area). Great Portland Street was developed by the Dukes of Portland, who owned most of the eastern half of Marylebone

Marylebone

Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....

in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was first rated as John Street in 1726.

Great Portland Street separates different areas with very distinct identities, such as the grandeur of Portland Place

Portland Place

Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London, England.-History and topography:The street was laid out by the brothers Robert and James Adam for the Duke of Portland in the late 18th century and originally ran north from the gardens of a detached mansion called Foley House...

and Harley Street

Harley Street

Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...

, and the artistic and independent areas of Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia

. The street has its own unique character, due in part of the unusual combination of small shops combined with the strongly rectilinear character of Great Portland Street, which gives it a feeling not unlike parts of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

Historic influences on Great Portland Street’s Character

Different owners and interests influenced the initial development of the local area and have had a lasting impact on the street layout and character. Edward Harley

Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer , styled Lord Harley between 1711 and 1724, was a British politician, bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts.-Background:...

– Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, and married to Lady Henrietta Cavendish – was responsible for the development of the Portland Estate, which commenced with Cavendish Square

Cavendish Square

Cavendish Square is a public square in the West End of London, very close to Oxford Circus, where the two main shopping thoroughfares of Oxford Street and Regent Street meet. It is located at the eastern end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Portman Square, part of the Portman Estate, to its...

in 1717 and grew north and east. Great Portland Street’s name is clearly derived from the estate and several other street names in the area are also related to the area’s ownership, albeit less obviously.

Although all the land up to Great Titchfield Street

Great Titchfield Street

Great Titchfield Street is a street in the West End of London. It runs north from Oxford Street to Greenwell Street, just short of the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. It lies within the informally designated London area of Fitzrovia. In administrative terms it is in the City of Westminster...

was controlled by the Portland Estate, other estates were developing nearby land simultaneously. The Berners family owned the land just to the east of Great Portland Street, beginning to develop outwards from Wells Street and Rathbone Place in the mid-18th century. At the same time the Middlesex Hospital

Middlesex Hospital

The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites...

expanded on land they had obtained on a 99-year lease around Mortimer Street, encroaching on Riding House and Cleveland Street

Cleveland Street, London

Cleveland Street in central London runs north to south from Euston Road to the junction of Mortimer Street and Goodge Street. It lies within Fitzrovia, in the W1 post code area...

s. The proximity of unrelated developers with different agendas helps to explain the unusual collision of street grids centred around Great Portland Street, where several east-west streets terminate or originate.

Great Portland Street runs straight from north to south through this grid of streets. This layout, combined with its reasonable width and the concentration of shops along its length, means it has for a long time acted as a local centre and thoroughfare, connecting the residential areas around Regent’s Park with the West End

West End of London

. However, this has also resulted in it become a sort of divider, emphasising the contrasting areas to either side of it. To the east, there are artistic areas such as Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia

, which have historically been less well-to-do than the west, with its grand parade of Portland Place

Portland Place

, residential areas for the gentry, and doctors and medical institutions on Harley Street

Harley Street

Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...

Development and redevelopment of Great Portland Street

Development of the whole estate was gradual but particularly so on Great Portland Street. This had a knock-on effect during its later redevelopment in the late 19th/early 20th centuries when rebuilding was dictated by the expiration of individual buildings’ 99-year leases, and is subsequently evident in the buildings in existence today.

The most coherent element to the architecture is the predominance of Edwardian buildings to the north and Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

buildings towards Oxford Street

Oxford Street

, particularly noticeable when there has been occasional consolidation of plots, leading to consistent façades above street level such as in the block between Clipstone and Carburton Streets. This trend of period groupings is another result of the slowness of the very first development. As buildings in the south would have been built much earlier than those in the north, their leases would have in turn expired earlier, thus setting off a wave of redevelopment which meant that rebuilding in the south would have taken place in the late Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

era, whilst that in the north would have been delayed until the Edwardian.

The Blitz

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

made it necessary for further re-building after the war, although the damage incurred along Great Portland Street alone was not particularly extensive. Hence, there is not a great number of modern buildings, and although the aesthetic today is a jumble of architectural styles and eras, the overall feel is that of an historic street.

Great Portland Street's development over time

Various area maps from the 18th century onward provide detail to how Great Portland Street has changed over time.

1746 (John Rocque's Map)

The southern end of Great Portland Street (then shown as Portland Street) has been built as part of the development begun by Edward Harley and Lady Cavendish. With the exception of small villages at Mary Le Bone and Tottenham Court, the rest of the area to the north of Oxford Street is largely open fields. To the south, the street patterns which were the inspiration for the new development of formal squares and streets can be seen in places such as Soho Square.

1793 (Richard Horwood's Map)

The street pattern of the whole area has been laid out almost exactly as it is today, with the appearance of Marylebone Road providing the northern boundary to the grid. Notable differences are the presence of Foley House where Langham Place

Langham Place, London

Langham Place is a street in Westminster, central London, England. It connects Portland Place to the north with Regent Street to the south in London's West End.- Buildings :...

is today, and Portland Place shown in its original design as a close of grand houses. Also, the line of Great Portland Street has been established but the buildings at the northern end have not been built, a curious gap as the streets parallel have largely been built up at this stage. One other curiosity in the planning of Great Portland Street, which still remains today, is its abrupt widening just north of Clipstone Street.

The impetus for the social pattern of affluence to the west and poverty to the east which has long-defined the area has been established with the houses along Portland Place and west of there being much larger than those to the east. These houses, clearly designed for the gentry have their own individual gardens and frequently mews, whilst the houses along Great Portland Street and the surrounding streets are noticeably smaller and would have accommodated the working classes involved in local trades.

1827 (Christopher Greenwood's Map)

Great Portland Street’s buildings are still not complete at the northern end, although the rest of the area’s present-day street pattern is now completely in place. This includes the appearance of Park Crescent and the transformation of Portland Place into a grand parade with the disappearance of Foley House. These two prominent features were part of Nash’s scheme for the Prince Regent when the land to the north was returned to the Crown. This included the laying out of Regent’s Park, which had previously remained an area of fields, and the creation of a ‘royal mile’, beginning at Park Crescent and leading down to Carlton House in the south.

1870 (Ordnance Survey Map)

The whole street has been built up and is now united as one street under the name of Great Portland Street whereas previously it had gone by the name of John Street in the few blocks before Oxford Street and Portland Road at the north end. However, the slight widening of the street which used to mark the beginning of Portland Road is still visible at the corner of Weymouth Street. This feature probably would have contributed to the very northern end of the street being more heavily trafficked in comparison to the middle stretch, as is still the case today.

There are signs of the demolition and rebuilding which was beginning to occur in this period and which continued through into the early years of the 20th century. The most noticeable evidence of this on the map is the large gap on the west side between Weymouth and New Cavendish Streets, where the modern synagogue is today. Otherwise, the street pattern and buildings remain largely the same in their layout.

1889 (Booth’s Poverty Map)

Booth's map shows Great Portland Street and the immediately parallel streets as middle-class/well-to-do whilst the accompanying notes describe it as a “mixed st., shops, restaurants, many curio and antique shops, many doubtful massage establishments”. This vibrant description indicates that it is already something of a local centre, with a distinct catchment area made up of those “comfortable” households in the neighbouring streets. The mixed nature of the street described by Booth is not surprising given the general picture this map gives. The movement from ‘wealthy’ to ‘poor’ – and even some ‘very poor’ households – is striking as one travels west to east from Harley Street and Portland Place to Great Titchfield Street and beyond.

1916 (Ordnance Survey Map)

The great redevelopment of Great Portland Street has largely come to an end by this time. There are slight changes in some of the plots along the street, showing the further rebuilding and consolidation which had taken place in the previous few decades but otherwise, Great Portland Street and its surrounding streets remain unchanged in their layout.

1945 (The London Council Bomb Damage Maps)

A few buildings along Great Portland Street were destroyed by bombing which explains some of the modern developments such as the synagogue opposite Clipstone Street, which was originally built in the late 19th century but damaged beyond repair in the Blitz

Blitz

-Armed conflict:*The Blitz, the German aerial attacks on Britain in WWII. The name Blitz was subsequently applied to many individual bombing campaigns or attacks.*Blitzkrieg, the "lightning war", a strategy of World War 2 Germany-People:...

. The street was cited in 28 separate A.R.P.

Air Raid Precautions

Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...

bomb incident reports dated between September 1940 and 1944. Despite this, much of the street escaped with little or no damage although there was some bad damage nearby in Langham Place and further east around Fitzrovia, with several buildings in those areas being completely destroyed or requiring demolition.

Great Portland Street broadcasters and media entities

The BBC Trust

BBC Trust

The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....

is based at 180 Great Portland Street while BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

headquarters is also situated on Great Portland Street in Yalding House

Yalding House

Yalding House is a building at 152–156 Great Portland Street, London, England, where BBC Radio 1 has been based since 1996.Yalding House is also home to BBC Radio 1Xtra, the digital sister station of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Switch, the umbrella brand for the BBC's youth output across radio, television...

. Radio 2 and 6 Music are located at Western House (99 Great Portland Street). Virgin Media Television and Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile UK

Virgin Mobile UK is a mobile phone service provider operating in the United Kingdom. The company was the world's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator, launched in 1999. Being a virtual operator, Virgin Mobile does not maintain its own network, and instead has contracts to use the existing network...

are both based at 160 Great Portland Street. The offices of UKTV, Bravo Television, IDS, Discovery Channel Europe, and Mac 7 TV amongst a number of other TV channels are also found on Great Portland Street.

Great Portland Street and the Automobile

Great Portland Street, also known as “Motor Row”, was a primary street for motorcars and related accessories in the early years of the 20th Century. The Benz Motor dealership was located in the very early 20th century on the street at its intersection with Weymouth Street where Villandry Restaurant is now located. By the mid-Twenties Great Portland Street had become a dominant motor vehicle trading venue—with no less than 33 showrooms located along the street. Others manufacturers, including the big names of Vauxhall

Vauxhall

-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...

, Jaguar

Jaguar

The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...

, Austin

Austin

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...

and Auto-Union DKW

Auto Union

Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....

were also represented on the street in the first decades of the last century. Other manufacturers with offices and or showrooms on Great Portland Street, included the Beardmore Motors Limited as well as the Maxwell

Maxwell

-People:* Maxwell , Grammy winning R&B/neo-soul singer* Maxwell Cabelino Andrade , a Brazilian footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona...

, Morgan Motor

Morgan Motor Company

The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 by Harry Frederick Stanley Morgan, generally known as "HFS" and was run by him until he died, aged 77, in 1959. Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003...

and Phoenix Car companies. The Indian Motorcycle Company opened its showroom at 168-202 Great Portland Street in 1908.

Coach builders in Great Portland Street were a crucial prerequisite for the development of the motor trade on the street. They were represented by the Carlton Carriage Co; and well-established firms included light car specialists Mebes & Mebes, founded in 1893 amongst numerous others.

Speedometer House, built in 1913 at 179 Great Portland Street, was a London motor industry landmark. Its top two floors were devoted to the production of Smiths

Smiths Group

Smiths Group plc is a global engineering company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations in over 50 countries and employs around 23,550 staff....

speedometers, gauges and other instruments, while the basement was given over to the production of carburettors. John Donald "Jack" Barclay, after leaving the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

at the end of the First World War, set up the Barclay & Wyse partnership at 91 Great Portland Street in 1922 to sell Vauxhall

Vauxhall

automobiles. The head offices of the UK's Retail Motor Industry Federation

Retail Motor Industry Federation

The Retail Motor Industry Federation represents the interests of motor industry operators in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, providing sales and services to motorists and businesses...

are located at 201 Great Portland Street.

Great Portland Street and the Arts

The German composers Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...

(1809–1847) and Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....

(1786–1826) both lived and worked on Great Portland Street. No. 103 Great Portland Street is cited as one of "London's 50 Outstanding Classical Music Landmarks" because Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

lodged there during the premiere of Fingal's Cave

Fingal's Cave

Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns, similar in structure to the Giant's Causeway in Northern...

. Other notables living on the street include James Boswell

James Boswell

James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....

, 9th Laird of Auchinleck, biographer at No. 122, Leigh Hunt the essayist and poet at No. 98, and the artist David Wilkie at No. 117 (1808-9). Sir Charles Barry, the architect, lived at No. 94 Great Portland Street from 1828 to 1841.

Pagani's restaurant, with its art nouveau frontage by Beresford Pite, was a favourite gathering place for many artists and musicians. This was perhaps due in part to the restaurant's proximity to Queen's Hall

Queen's Hall

The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...

on Langham Place. Its Artist Room walls were decorated by over 5,000 notes and signatures of its many important artists of the period who included Paderewski

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...

, Puccini

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...

, Chaminade

Cécile Chaminade

Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade was a French composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Paris, she studied at first with her mother, then with Félix Le Couppey, Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard, Martin Pierre Marsick and Benjamin Godard, but not officially, since her father disapproved of her musical...

, Chevalier

Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...

, Calvé

Emma Calvé

Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet , was a French operatic soprano.Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang regularly and to considerable acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and the Royal Opera...

, Piatti

Carlo Alfredo Piatti

Carlo Alfredo Piatti was an Italian cellist. He was born at via Borgo Canale, in Bergamo and died in Mozzo, 4 miles from Bergamo....

, Plançon

Pol Plançon

Pol-Henri Plançon was a distinguished French operatic bass . He was one of the most acclaimed singers active during the 1880s, 1890s and early 20th century—a period often referred to as the "Golden Age of Opera".In addition to being among the earliest international opera stars to have made...

, De Lucia

Fernando De Lucia

Fernando De Lucia was an Italian opera tenor and singing teacher who enjoyed an international career....

, Melba

Nellie Melba

Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...

, Menpes

Mortimer Menpes

Mortimer Luddington Menpes , was an Australian-born artist, author, printmaker and illustrator.-Life:...

, Tosti, Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...

, Whistler

James McNeill Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...

amongst numerous others. Pagani's was bombed during the blitz

Blitz

but survived for a time after the war. It had first opened in 1871. Some of the artistic energy of the area dissipated after Queen's Hall

Queen's Hall

was destroyed by a single incendiary bomb in May 1941 and was not rebuilt.

Great Portland Street and the Clothing Trade

Great Portland Street still hints at its past when it was major centre for London's women’s clothing industry. During the late 1950 and 1960’s, garment related businesses could be found all along the length of the street.

The clothing trade arrived on Great Portland Street with the appearance of small stock and work rooms in the early 1900s. Over time, these grew into larger showrooms which represented the English textile industry to many West End stores. The sector’s activities were most pronounced where Great Portland Street intersects with Mortimer St and Margaret St. The area’s proximity to buying officers working for the big stores on Oxford Street gave businesses in the area a competitive edge.

The sector’s local presence declined in the late 1970-80's with the disappearance of both the UK’s independent retailer and the British textile industry. The growing dominance of UK chain stores, with their requirement for supply chain efficiencies from foreign low-cost suppliers, meant that new orders by-passed the showrooms and manufacturer's agents on Great Portland Street and its vicinity.

Major names of the garment industry associated with Great Portland Street include Shubette of London, Coppernob, Alfred Young, Hildebrand, and French Connection amongst others. Though a number of specialist niche market wholesalers survive the sectors is now mainly represented on the Great Portland Street by garment importers.

Notable Buildings and Companies on Great Portland Street

Great Portland Street is in both Westminster Council's Harley Street Conservation and East Marylebone Conservation Areas. The street has a commercial character with a majority of its buildings dating from the late Victorian or Edwardian period. There are four Grade II listed structures on Great Portland Street:

78/80 Great Portland Street, W1 - Free Flemish-Jacobean built in 1904
94 Great Portland Street, W1 (east side) - built late 18th Century
126 Great Portland Street, W1 (east side) - Free Style Queen Anne with Baroque accents built c. 1898
Great Portland Street Underground Station, W1 - Cream faience tile faced with slate mansard roof - built 1912

Most of the remaining structures on Great Portland Street have been designated as 'Unlisted Buildings of Merit' by Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

.

Other buildings of note:

The Portland Hospital for Women and Children, on the site of the Ami Portland Hospital for Women and Children founded in 1858, is located at 205-209 Great Portland Street.

Great Portland Street also provides examples of larger Edwardian buildings in the Marylebone Conservation Area. These include 160-180 Great Portland Street, 206 Great Portland Street
and 228 Great Portland Street (The Armitage).

229 Great Portland Street is also home to (International Students House, London

International Students House, London

International Students House, London is a residence for 700 British and overseas students, interns and trainees whilst staying in London. It is located in Central London close to London's West End at the south side of Regents Park and operates as a financially self supporting charity under a board...

)

Transportation

The street is served at the northern end by Great Portland Street

Great Portland Street tube station

Great Portland Street is a London Underground station near Regent's Park. It is between and on the Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan lines...

station and at the southern end by Oxford Circus

Oxford Circus tube station

-External links:* ** ** * Plans of the station after the Victoria Line works , , *...

.

Great Portland Street

Great Portland Street tube station

Great Portland Street is a London Underground station near Regent's Park. It is between and on the Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan lines...

station opened as Portland Road on 10 January 1863 as a station on London's then Metropolitan Railway

Metropolitan railway

Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

. The station was renamed Great Portland Street

Great Portland Street tube station

Great Portland Street is a London Underground station near Regent's Park. It is between and on the Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan lines...

in March 1917. The present station building, designed by Charles Clark, is of 1930 date and is constructed from cream faience tile with a slate mansard roof.

Regents Park tube station is also close to the north end of the street. Buses numbered 88, C2, 18, 27, 30, 205, 189, 3, 12, and 55 stop on or within a close distance of the road.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.