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Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a famous intersection of London's West End in the City of Westminster. Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. It now links directly to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street and Glasshouse Street.
Its proximity to major shopping/entertainment areas and central location in the heart of the West End, have made Piccadilly Circus a busy meeting point and a tourist attraction in its own right.
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.
Piccadilly Circus is renowned for its video display and neon signs on the north-west corner. The earliest signs used incandescent light bulbs, these were replaced with neon lamps, as well as moving signs. Briefly digital projectors were used for the Coke sign. The number of signs has reduced over the years as the rental costs have increased.
At the south-west side of the Circus moved from its original position in the centre stands the Shaftesbury Monument memorial fountain, erected in 1892-1893 to commemorate the works of Lord Shaftesbury. It is topped by Alfred Gilbert's winged nude statue. It is popularly known as Eros after the mythical Greek God of Love, although he is intended to be Eros' twin Anteros. The statue is used as the symbol of the Evening Standard newspaper. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadilly_Circus)
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