Old Soho (London)

[AntonAAK]

Some interesting old photos of London's West End.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/save-soho-...ant-heart-londons-west-end-over-years-1495269

 

[Shangas]

LOL.

"REJECTED VIRGINS". 10/6 (3 for 29/6)

Thank God they're talking about pipes...

 

[GHT]

That was like taking a trip down memory lane. You see the public lavatory that John Lennon is fronting, those Victorian, subterranean toilets, have all but disappeared. There is one surviving one though, although no longer an urgent pee stop. It's at The Aldwych, and it's been converted to a yuppie wine bar, called The Cellar Bar. It has the most freaky lavatory you will ever visit. You step through a transparent door, the glass goes opaque when you slide the lock.

Times I spent in the Two I's, there was another coffee bar that was very popular back then, it was named: The Macabre, just around the corner from The Two I's. Upstairs in the Macabre was heaven, downstairs was hell. I saw Carnaby Street grow from a few warehouses into a couple of shops, first one was owned and run by Warren & David Gold, the second by John Stephen, who later became known as The King of Carnaby Street. David Gold is, of course, the CEO of Gold Group International, and the father of Jacqueline Gold, head honcho of the Ann Summers chain of sex shops. Where was I? Oh yes, Carnaby Street grew into worldwide fame. Not that I would recommend a visit, ghastly place now.

 

[Benzadmiral]

In the June 1956 pic, one can imagine James Bond (Fleming's Bond, that is) strolling by that newsagent's . . . and in the 1966 pics, you can picture Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin eying the barely-clas model in the photoshoot.

 

[Edward]

That was like taking a trip down memory lane. You see the public lavatory that John Lennon is fronting, those Victorian, subterranean toilets, have all but disappeared. There is one surviving one though, although no longer an urgent pee stop. It's at The Aldwych, and it's been converted to a yuppie wine bar, called The Cellar Bar. It has the most freaky lavatory you will ever visit. You step through a transparent door, the glass goes opaque when you slide the lock.

Great little place, isn't it? I discovered it when a friend's drag career had its West End debut there. Turns out I know the guy who owns it (another legal academic), though I didn't discover that until more recently. That toilet really threw me the first time I used it. :lol: