|
Location Information:
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised
square in the West End of London,
England. The Square lies within an
area bound by Lisle Street, to the
north; Charing Cross Road, to the
east; Orange Street, to the south;
and Whitcomb Street, to the west.
The park at the centre of the Square
is bound by Cranbourn Street, to the
north; Leicester Street, to the
east; Irving Street, to the south;
and a section of road designated
simply as Leicester Square, to the
west. It is within the City of
Westminster, and about equal
distances (about 400 yards / 370
metres) north of Trafalgar Square,
east of Piccadilly Circus, west of
Covent Garden, and south of
Cambridge Circus.
n the
middle of the Square is a small
park, in the centre of which is a
19th century statue of William
Shakespeare surrounded by dolphins.
The four corner gates of the park
have one bust each, depicting Sir
Isaac Newton, the scientist; Sir
Joshua Reynolds, the first President
of the Royal Academy; John Hunter, a
pioneer of surgery; and William
Hogarth, the painter. The most
recent addition is a statue of film
star and director Charlie Chaplin.
On the pavement are inscribed the
distances in miles to countries of
the former British Empire.
Leicester Square is the centre of
London's cinema land, and one of the
signs marking the Square bears the
legend "Theatreland." It is claimed
that the Square contains the cinema
with the largest screen and the
cinema with the most seats (over
1600). The square is the prime
location in London for major film
premieres and has seen the likes of
James Bond films, animation films
such as Shrek and even co-hosts the
London Film Festival each year.
Similar to Grauman's Chinese Theatre
in Hollywood, the square is
surrounded by floor mounted plaques
with film stars names and cast
handprints.
The
Square is also the home for tkts,
formerly known as the Official
London Half-Price Theatre Ticket
Booth. This booth is jointly
operated by TKTS and LondonTown.com.
Tickets for theatre performances
taking place around the West End
that day are sold from the booth for
about half the usual price. The
popularity of the booth has given
rise to many other booths and stores
around the Square that advertise
half-price tickets for West End
shows. It is claimed that at least
some of these booths operate
fraudulently. Despite having names
like 'Official Half-Price Ticket
Booth', they are not official and
they do not always advertise the
booking fees which commonly come
with purchasing tickets.
The
Square is home to several
nightclubs, making it often very
busy, particularly on Friday and
Saturday evenings.
Local
Weather:
|
