This streetview presents the southside of the Piccadilly between St. James’s Church (left) and Duke Street (right). The Piccadilly is a road in the city of Westminster, London, between the Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner. Lined with a lot of remarkable buildings, we see amongst others in this streetline view: St. James’s Church at the left edge, the former Royal Institute of Painters and Watercolours (centre), the Hatchards building (the oldest bookshop in the UK) and the Fortnum & Mason Headquarters on the right edge. A four-ton clock was installed on the Fortnum & Mason facade in 1964 as a tribute to its founders. The Royal Institute of Painters and Watercolours was housed in the dominating building by E. R. Robson from 1883 to 1970 and the busts on the facade show J. M. W. Turner, J. R. Cozens, William H. Hunt, Thomas Girtin, David Cox, Peter de Wint, Paul Sandby and George Barrett.
The street was originally the Road to Reading in medieval times, later became Portugal Street and has supposedly been named Piccadilly because a former landowner (Robert Baker) prospered by making and selling Piccadills here.
The next two blocks to the left are documented in our oldest streetline work from 2004. For more streetline views visit our London summary.
