Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is a plaza and traffic intersection in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, near Soho and Theatreland, renowned for its video display and neon signs in the northwestern corner and the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of Eros to the southwest. It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. Directly underneath the plaza is the London Underground station [[Piccadilly Circus.

Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly (the "circus" refers to "circular open space at a street junction"), it now links directly to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue as well as Haymarket, Coventry Street (onwards to Leicester Square) and Glasshouse Street. Piccadilly Circus is renowned as one of the busiest places in the world; the phrase, "it's like Piccadilly Circus", is commonly used in the UK to refer to a place or situation where many people meet. It has been said that a person who stays long enough at Piccadilly Circus will eventually bump into everyone they know.

History of Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus in 1896, with a view towards Leicester Square via Coventry Street. London Pavilion can be seen on the left, and Criterion Theatre on the right.

Piccadilly Circus in 1896, with a view Shaftesbury Avenue. towards Leicester Square via Coventry Street. London Pavilion can be seen on the right, and the Shaftesbury memorial fountain on the left.

Piccadilly Circus connects to Piccadilly, a thoroughfare whose name first appeared in 1626 as Pickadilly Hall, named after a house belonging to one Robert Baker, a tailor famous for selling piccadills or piccadillies, a term used for various kinds of collars. The street was known as Portugal Street in 1692 in honour of Catharine of Braganza, Piccadilly Circus was created in 1819, at the junction with Regent Street which was then being built, on the site of a house and garden belonging to a Lady Hutton.

The junction has been a very busy traffic interchange since construction, as it is at the centre of Theatreland and handles exit traffic from Piccadilly, which Charles Dickens described as "the great thoroughfare leading from the Haymarket and Regent-street westward to Hyde Park-corner" and "the nearest approach to the Parisian boulevard of which London can boast." Traffic lights were first installed in August 3, 1926 at the junction.

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, London, erected in 1893, to commemorate the philanthropic works of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. During the Second World War, the statue statue atop the Shaftesbury memorial fountain, The Angel of Christian Charity, was removed, and was replaced by advertising hoardings. After the war, the entire fountain from the centre of the junction at the beginning of Shaftesbury Avenue to the southwestern corner.

Location and sights

Piccadilly Circus is surrounded by several major tourist attractions.

Neon signs and the Coca-Cola display

The circus used to be surrounded by illuminated advertising hoardings on buildings, but only one building now carries them, namely the one in the northwestern corner, between Shaftesbury Avenue and Glasshouse Street. In September 2003, Coca Cola replaced its old illuminated board with a state-of-the-art video display that curves round with the building.

Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros

Main article: Lord Shaftesbury

*The Angel of Christian Charity*, popularly known as *Eros*, is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium

At the south-western side of the Circus, moved from its original position in the centre, stands the Shaftesbury memorial fountain, erected in 1893 to commemorate the philanthropic works of Lord Shaftesbury. It is topped by Alfred Gilbert's winged nude statue, popularly (but mistakenly) known as Eros, although its official name is The Angel of Christian Charity.

Technologically ground-breaking at the time, this statue was the first in the world to be cast in aluminium. The statue originally pointed its bow to the north, up Shaftesbury Avenue. However, during the Second World War the statue was removed for safe keeping, and when it was returned its bow was fixed pointing in to the south, towards Lower Regent Street.

Criterion Theatre

Main articles: Criterion Theatre and Reduced Shakespeare Company

The Criterion Theatre, a grade II* listed building, stands on the south side of Piccadilly Circus. Apart from the Box Office area, the entire theatre is underground and is reached by descending a tiled stairway. Columns are used to support both the Dress Circle and the Upper Circle, restricting the views of many of the 594 seats inside.

The theatre was designed by Thomas Verity and opened as a theatre on March 21, 1874, although original plans were for it to become a concert hall. In 1883 it was forced to close to improve ventilation and to replace gaslights with electric lights, and was reopened the following year. The theatre closed in 1989 and was extensively refurbished, reopening in October 1992.

Criterion Theatre has been the home of the Reduced Shakespeare Company since 1995. The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a company of actors that performs unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly highly-improvisational comedies presenting ludicrously condensed versions of huge topics. Its most renowned work is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Works is now London's longest-running comedy, where a pastiche of 37 of Shakespeare's plays is performed in 97 minutes. During much of the year Works is performed at the Criterion.

London Pavilion

Main article: London Pavilion

On the north-eastern side of the Piccadilly Circus, on the corner between Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street, is the London Pavilion. The first building bearing the name was built in 1859, and was a music hall. In 1885, Shaftesbury Avenue was built through the site of the Pavilion. A new London Pavilion was constructed, which also served as a music hall. In 1923, electric billboards were erected on the side of the building.

In 1934, the building underwent significant structural alteration, and was converted into a cinema. In 1986, the building was rebuilt, preserving the 1885 facade, and converted into a shopping arcade. In 2000, the building was connected to the neighbouring Trocadero Centre, and signage on the building was altered in 2003 to read "London Trocadero". The basement of the building connects with Piccadilly Circus tube station.

Major shops

The former Tower Records flagship store, now acquired by Virgin Megastore, can be found at Number 1 Piccadilly, on the west side between Regent Street and Piccadilly. There is a direct exit to the Underground station on the basement level. Rival store HMV also has a branch nearby.
Lillywhites is London's premier sports shop located on south side.
Waterstone's on Piccadilly is the largest bookshop in Europe, spread over eight floors. It occupies the site of Simpson's department store, and retains the building's 1920 art deco design.

Underground station and the Piccadilly Line

Main articles: Piccadilly Circus tube station and Piccadilly Line

The London Underground station Piccadilly Circus is station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner. It is one of the few stations which have no associated buildings above ground, the station being fully underground.

The station is on the Piccadilly Line between Green Park and Leicester Square, and the Bakerloo Line between Charing Cross and Oxford Circus. Piccadilly Circus was opened 10 March 1906 on the Bakerloo Line, and on the Piccadilly Line in December of that year. In 1928, the station was extensively rebuilt to handle an increase in traffic.