please empty your brain below
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All that’s left of Andrew Mather’s 1923 Fanum
House is the facade, since it was rebuilt by MAKE Architects in the mid-2010s with a new interior and enlarged roof. A friend of mine runs the company which undertook the redevelopment,
He'll be very disappointed that you didn’t mention the artwork - Blackbird (Persistence of Vision) by Kenny Hunter - which he commissioned for the building. It consists of images of a blackbird in flight, based on the work of Edward Muybridge. I suppose it didn’t grab you enough to write about (or was upstaged by the LEGO shop).
Baldassaro | 03.09.24 - 7:17 a.m. | #
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For all Leicester Square's "not-for-Londoners" character, I retain very fond memories of countless childhood trips in the 1960s that culminated in supper at the Chicken Inn on the north side
Waterhouse | 03.09.24 - 8:09 a.m. | #
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South Side
Over a half-a-century ago, I went weekly to what is now the Radisson Hotel for bridge-work and root fillings, for it was then the Royal London Dental Hospital. The weekly visits for a year cured me of my childhood fear of dentists.
For some reason I had always thought it became Global/LBC HQ, and am happy to have been corrected. I understand the Radisson now bears a 'blue plaque'.
John U.K. | 03.09.24 - 8:28 a.m. | #
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The only fun I’ve had in Leicester Square is when Home was running at number 1. Best sound system I’d ever experienced!
David | 03.09.24 - 8:31 a.m. | #
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Ah, The Empire at Leicester Square.
I've never really been a clubber, but for one memorably brief period in the autumn of 1984 I was dating this girl from Elephant & Castle, who delighted in going dancing at the Empire on Saturday nights. It was hot, sweaty, and everything I detested about clubbing, but the memories are good nonetheless. One night Sister Sledge made an unannounced visit, and thrilled the masses with a mini (3 songs) concert.
I remember the Swiss Centre too, didn't realise it was gone, which shows you how often I frequent the area these days.
Steve
Steve Conway | 03.09.24 - 8:49 a.m. | #
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As I recall it, the London Electricity Board wanted to build a sub-station at ground level. Naturally, this brought loads of objections. In a rare example of a covenant being enforceable (presumably by the local authority and successors to which the square was bequeathed in perpetuity), this was rejected.
LEB then proposed taking their time building subterranean sub-station. The judge wasn't having any of that and said they would have to build it with the minimum time disruption or not at all. I believe they worked on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I used to find it amusing that the AA headquarters was in a pedestrianised zone and one could not arrive there by car.
Pedantic of Purley | 03.09.24 - 8:51 a.m. | #
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I too remember the Royal London Dental Hospital, where I had ongoing orthodontic treatment in the 1960s.
Tim W. | 03.09.24 - 9:04 a.m. | #
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Slightly disappointed no mention of the intriguing door at number 16, (north side): Maison Pierre Chanel, which I know nothing about, but appears to be a refugee hub. I must have passed the entrance to the French church on Leicester Place a bazillion times without really looking. Probably too ‘I’m a real Londoner’ annoyed by having to navigate the human scrum in the square. My loss. Wish I'd known about Burford’s Panorama on my first pass.
jpmac | 03.09.24 - 9:25 a.m. | #
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I seem to remember that the TKTS ticket booth (which replaced its pre-fab predecessor) is actually built around a ventilation shaft for the lx sub-station below, hence its position and height.
I loved the original Empire cinema and its progressive ribbed and coloured neon ceiling lights; best memory is an all-day screening of Abel Gance’s gigantic silent film “Napoleon”, complete with live orchestra, sometime in the 80s. Emerging into mid-afternoon sunlight after six hours in the dark was surreal.
Labourer | 03.09.24 - 10:08 a.m. | #
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The grass cover in the square gets totally covered over by the Christmas market, so will never be very good.
Mikey C | 03.09.24 - 10:10 a.m. | #
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Off-topic: the murals by Cocteau in the French Church are worth seeing.
David B | 03.09.24 - 10:27 a.m. | #
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The epicentre of London chic for me throughout the years.
My first experience of pizza was at the Leicester Square Pizzaland in 1976. I had never dreamt such sophistication could exist on a single plate!
Then in the 1980s there was a shop there selling all the latest Athena prints. It was illuminating to browse there, especially to an Abba sound-track.
cau1khead | 03.09.24 - 10:38 a.m. | #
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I also wanted to mention the French Church, which is well worth a visit and which I only discovered in the 2010s.
As well as the Subway gay club on the East side of the square. The trailblazing cruising bar, the most popular in London in the early 80s, which faltered during the of AIDS pandemic.
Steve | Homepage | 03.09.24 - 10:46 a.m. | #
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The French Church is off Leicester Place, not in Leicester Square, hence I didn't mention it.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 03.09.24 - 10:48 a.m. | #
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Look Up for murmurations.
Leicester Square always evokes memories of Starlings, many thousands of Starlings swooping overhead in perfect formation. Mind you that was back in the 1950s/1960s.
parktown | 03.09.24 - 10:54 a.m. | #
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Some 30+ years ago, before Capital arrived in Leicester Square, the basement that was the Comedy Store a few doors down used to host recordings for Radio 4. I went a couple of times and remember Clive Anderson presenting one. He was visibly nervous. Don't think he would be now.
ap | 03.09.24 - 11:30 a.m. | #
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I once visited Fanum House in the early 2000s before it was rebuilt. It was used (at least in part) as the UK base for Ticketmaster, which feels topical given the recent furore over their Oasis ticket sales.
Anders | 03.09.24 - 1:57 p.m. | #
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Had my hen do at Chiquito's in Leicester Square in 1993. Was amazed to see it still there 30 years later!
The Cantonal Tree no longer makes much sense without the Swiss Centre alongside. What a travesty of planning!!
Wonder what happened to the buried statue of George I?!!
Cornish Cockney | 03.09.24 - 5:01 p.m. | #
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Apparently the statue of George 1 was bought by the residents of Leicester Square, thinking it was of his successor George 11.
JohnC | 03.09.24 - 6:30 p.m. | #
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The Odeon Leicester Square's 794 seats are eclipsed by the Superscreen at Cineworld at the O2, which seats 853.
zappomatic | 04.09.24 - 9:23 p.m. | #
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The IMAX screen at the Leicester Square Cineworld is amazing!
Ewan | 07.09.24 - 1:20 p.m. | #
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