Shaftesbury Avenue

The Shaftesbury Avenue is a north-south axis in the center of London. It begins at Piccadilly Circus, then guides you through the Cambridge Circus ( the intersection with Charing Cross Road ) to New Oxford Street.

The road that follows the course of a much older road was built across 1877-1886 by the former slum areas to improve accessibility to the West End.

It was named after the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who was a benefactor and had campaigned for a life improvement in the slums.

Today the Shaftesbury Avenue is regarded as " the " Street Theatre in London. Some scoffers also call it " London's Broadway ." The street is lined with less architecturally valuable buildings. Only the London pavilion, the " Lyric " Theatre and the " Palace " Theatre at Cambridge Circus stand out between the simple buildings.

It is also in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 mentioned.