Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in London that runs north from Trafalgar Square to St Giles Circus (the junction with Oxford Street ) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road . It is named after the Charing Cross from which it originates. The original Charing Cross was erected by Edward I as one of the crosses that marked the route to London for the remains of his wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile . At its northern end, Charing Cross Road forms the boundary between the districts of Soho in the City of Westminster and St Giles in the old Metropolitan Borough of Holborn .
Charing Cross Road was laid out by the Metropolitan Board of Works along with Shaftesbury Avenue . The two streets are among several that were built in the Victorian and Edwardian periods to improve the flow of traffic through central London. Other examples are Thames Embankment , Northumberland Avenue , Kingsway and Aldwych . Charing Cross Road was laid out by Act 1877 at a cost of £ 778,238. It included parts of the routing of older roads.
Charing Cross Road is known for its bookshops , especially specialist bookshops and second-hand bookshops . The section from Leicester Square Underground Station to Cambridge Circus was home to specialist bookstores such as Zwemmer’s (art books), Murder One ( detective and romance novels ) and ComicShowcase (closed in 2006). Most of these stores are rented on the ground floor of a residential block, a non-profit social housing -Gesellschaft (so-called Housing association belongs). In 2001 the company decided to drastically increase the rents for the shops in order to bring them closer to market standards. This led to protests from booksellers who believed they were offering a valuable service and thus adding to the character of the area. They felt that they shouldn't be treated that way by a nonprofit like the Housing association . The company's counter-argument was that the booksellers would be subsidized by their low-income tenants if they did not pay a rent that was in line with the market. The booksellers were able to win considerable public support and the rents were increased less strongly; however, several bookstores closed. One of the stores that closed was the women's bookstore Silver Moon , which was incorporated by Foyles . There are more second-hand bookshops on nearby Cecil Court .
In the upper section from Cambridge Circus you will find general bookstores such as Borders , Blackwell’s and Foyles . Also noteworthy are the music shops on Denmark Street (also known as Britain's Tin Pan Alley ). The Astoria Theater and St Martin's Arts College were also on Charing Cross Road, as were some theaters, such as the Phoenix Theater with its entrance on neighboring Phoenix Street.
A long-standing correspondence between the New York author Helene Hanff and the employees of a really existing bookstore on Charing Cross Road, Marks & Co. , was the inspiration for her book 84 Charing Cross Road (1970). In 1986 the book was made into a film with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins in the leading roles. It was also produced as a play and radio play on the BBC . There has not been a bookstore at No. 84 Charing Cross Road for years (currently an All Bar One ), but a plaque commemorates Marks & Co.
At the south end of the street is a statue of Edith Cavell . At the north end is the Phoenix Garden , an allotment garden for the residents.
In Joanne K. Rowling's popular book series Harry Potter one will Pub called The Leaky Cauldron (in German translation Dripping boiler ) described at the Charing Cross Road, the gateway to the main shopping street magician who Diagon Alley forms and also accommodation for magicians provides . The street is also mentioned in the song Home for a Rest by the Canadian band Spirit of the West .
Web links
swell
- ^ The Buildings of England, London 6: Westminster , (2003) by Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner , page 401. ISBN 0-300-09595-3