West End Theatreland

The London Coliseum is recognizable by the giant iron globe perched atop its one hundred forty-five foot tower. This landmark on Saint Martin's Lane opened on Christmas Eve in nineteen oh four as the London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties.…

The building is identified by a frontage of Grimshill and Portland stone, four storeys high, featuring a distinct open loggia with Ionic columns at the first-floor level. Originally opening on September tenth, eighteen ninety-two, as the…

Leicester Square is defined by its status as the center of London’s film culture, a reputation cemented by the large, historic cinemas that line its perimeter. While today it is a pedestrianized hub for premieres and tourists, the space…

Piccadilly Circus is recognizable by its expansive, curved building facade wrapped in high-density light-emitting diode screens that illuminate the intersection. Built in eighteen nineteen to connect the newly constructed Regent Street…

The Sondheim Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue is marked by a distinctive modern glass facade that contrasts with its long history as a classic West End venue. Originally opened in nineteen oh seven as the Queen's Theatre, it was designed by…

The Palace Theatre is a grand red-brick and terracotta building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus. Commissioned by the opera impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte and designed by architect Thomas Edward Collcutt, it opened on…

Covent Garden is easily identified by its central, cobblestoned piazza and the long, covered market building that stretches across the middle of the space. The name itself is a historical shorthand, evolving from the medieval "Convent…

The Royal Ballet and Opera is distinguished by its grand classical portico facing Bow Street. This building is the third theatre to occupy this specific site since seventeen thirty-two, as its two predecessors were both destroyed by fire.…