Floral Street is a narrow street in the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

area of London, England. It runs east from Garrick Street to

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles, London, St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was ...

and contains a number of fashion stores, including

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

. The Upper School of the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

is located at 46 Floral Street, across the street from the back of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

History

The Concertina Bridge in Floral Street - geograph

Originally called Hart Street, it changed to the current name in 1895 to reflect the market trade. However, the street itself was mainly used by tradesmen associated with the fruit market. Originally, the street was a

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

. Due to its narrowness, the street was never a sought-after residential address in comparison to its surroundings, though

Joseph Haines Joseph Haines (died 4 April 1701), also known as Jo Haines, was a 17th-century actor, singer, dancer, guitarist, guitar player, fortune teller, and author. ''The Life of the Late Famous Comedian, Jo. Hayns'', possibly written by fellow player T ...

lived and died there in 1701. The main point of architectural note is the

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

-shaped "Bridge of Aspiration" which connects the

with the main opera house building across the street. It was designed by

WilkinsonEyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson (architect), Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre (architect), Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice ...

to represent the fluid grace of dance.Royal Ballet School – Bridge of Aspiration
/ref>

Royal Opera House

The back of the

is situated along the eastern end of Floral Street. A plaque at No. 48 marks the site of the studio of the artist Elizabeth Polunin, who designed sets and costumes for several opera companies. The plaque records the period

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

spent there.

References

External links

History of Floral Street
{{coord, 51.5122, N, 0.1247, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms Streets in the City of Westminster Covent Garden

History

Royal Opera House

See also

References

External links