B/W print; A Lipton restaurant next door to Holborn Underground, 1925

This photo of 1925 shows the busy corner at Kingsway and High Holborn which is dominated by a Lipton restaurant. Lipton's started as a grocery store in the 19th century. The growing popularity of tea shops as places to meet and socialise saw the opening of a number of Lipton cafes and restaurants. These were particularly popular with women. In the early decades of the 20th century, it was still not 'respectable' for women to meet in pubs or bars. This changed only after the dramatic social upheaval of the Second World War. Many of the Lipton restaurants were found close to shopping districts. The restaurant here was in walking distance of the Strand and Covent Garden. It was also right next to Holborn Underground station.