Old Compton Street

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Old Compton Street road signs

Old Compton Street is a street in the center of the Soho neighborhood in London , England .

history

The street was named after Henry Compton , who raised funds for the local parishes and was probably honored at St. Anne's Church in 1686. The district in general and Old Compton Street in particular was inhabited by French Protestant refugees, whom the English King Charles II offered protection from 1681. At all times in the past, Old Compton Street has been the main shopping street in the Soho neighborhood . At the end of the 18th century, fewer than ten houses on the street had no shop windows. In the middle of the 19th century restaurants and inns and some workshops were added, although most of the buildings were still set up as shops. The number of foreign residents grew and the street became known for being a place for exiles in London (especially for the French). With the suppression of the Paris Commune , for example, poets such as Arthur Rimbaud or Paul Verlaine were found , who often came to the inns. In the 19th century, the district, and especially Old Compton Street , increasingly became a center of entertainment and entertainment in London alongside shops. In the course of this development, strange people lived on Old Compton Street , such as George Wombwell , who ran a boat and shoe shop and a menagerie between 1804 and 1810 until his death in 1850.

In the 20th century, the Soho metropolitan area, and in particular Old Compton Street, largely became the center of entertainment and entertainment in London. Restaurants such as 2i's Coffee Bar (1956–1970) opened on the street. Many well known British pop musicians played in the houses on Old Compton Street .

On the street is the famous Prince Edward Theater , where musicals like Evita , Chess Anything Goes , Crazy for You , Martin Guerre , Mamma Mia! and Mary Poppins were / will be performed.

Admiral Duncan gay bar

The Old Compton Street is currently the center of the LGBT - community in London. In the center of the Soho neighborhood there are LGBT bars, restaurants and cafes along the street, as well as a very famous London theater. Every year the Soho Pride takes place on a weekend in late summer on the street . The Admiral Duncan gay bar is one of the traditional LGBT restaurants . In 1999 this place was victim of a nail bomb attack in which three people, including a pregnant woman, died and dozens of people were injured. The attack was carried out by the British neo-Nazi David Copeland , who was later arrested and sentenced to prison. He is said to have been inspired by David Myatt's pamphlet A Practical Guide to Aryan Revolution . There are also a number of gay bars on Old Compton Street , such as Comptons (since the 1980s) and GAY nightclub .

On the street there are more cafes ( Patisserie Valerie and others) and restaurants ( Balans and others) as well as a number of erotic shops . The Old Compton Street is home to some of London film and video production company. At the junction of Old Compton Street and Charing Cross Road there is an interesting place to stay.

Crossing streets

(from west to east):

  • Wardour Street
  • Dean Street
  • Fifth Street
  • Greek Street
  • Charing Cross Road
  • Little Compton Street (formerly)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dozens injured in Soho nail bomb. Retrieved April 15, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Mark Weitzman: Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial: Permanent Elements of Global Right-Wing Extremism . In: Thomas Greven, Thomas Grumke (ed.): Globalized right-wing extremism? The extremist right in the era of globalization . 1st edition. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften / GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-531-14514-2 , p. 61 ff . ( limited preview in Google Book search).

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 47 "  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 54"  W.