Piccadilly Circus is a famous traffic intersection and public space of London's West End, which is a busy meeting point.
The "circus" refers to circular open space at a street junction.
It is now well known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side.
At the south-western side of the Circus, moved from its original position in the centre, stands the Shaftesbury Monument memorial fountain, erected in 1893 to commemorate the philanthropic works of Lord Shaftesbury. It is topped by Alfred Gilbert's winged nude statue, Eros (sometimes known as The Angel of Christian Charity). It is popularly known as Eros after the mythical Greek God of Love, although he is intended to be Eros' twin Anteros.
Roads off Piccadilly Circus include Shaftesbury Ave (famous for its theatres); the Haymarket, Coventry Street (which leads to Leicester Square), Glasshouse Street, Regent Street and Piccadilly.
|
