Regent Street

This sweeping curve between Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus exists because of stubborn landowners who refused to move. When architect John Nash designed Regent Street in 1813, he wanted a perfectly straight boulevard connecting the Prince Regent's palace with Regent's Park. Instead, property disputes forced him to create the distinctive curved section known as the Quadrant, which accidentally became the street's most celebrated feature.

Completed in 1825, this became the world's first purpose built shopping street, a revolutionary concept that changed how cities approached retail. Nash lined the Quadrant with elegant covered colonnades featuring 145 massive columns, creating sheltered walkways for wealthy shoppers. But by 1848, these architectural marvels were demolished. The colonnades had become infamous gathering spots for pickpockets and prostitutes, and merchants complained about the lack of natural light.

The shopkeepers here were pioneers in other ways too. By 1850, they stunned the city by staying open until 7pm, an outrageously late hour that shocked conservative Londoners. Almost nothing you see now is original. Between 1895 and 1927, nearly every building was rebuilt using Portland stone to accommodate larger department stores like Liberty and Hamleys. Only All Souls Church survived from Nash's era. During World War Two, German bombs repeatedly hit the street. Hamleys alone was struck five times but reopened each time.