B/W print; Piccadilly Circus Underground station entrance, 1906 - 1908

This photo shows the Piccadilly Circus station facade on Jermyn Street, circa 1906-08. This station opened on 10 March 1906 as part of the line running from Baker Street to Kennington Road. This was originally called the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway, and formed the basis of what is now known as the Bakerloo line. The Piccadilly line opened in December of that year forming an interchange at Piccadilly Circus. Piccadilly Circus station was designed by architect Leslie Green in the Arts & Crafts classical style. It has the distinctive red 'oxblood' glazed terracotta blocks in common with most Green-designed stations. It was financed by entrepreneur Charles Tyson Yerkes. The station had a cornice set out for a bay window above, though at the time of the photo it had not yet been built. The building was closed from 1929 when a new subterranean ticket hall was built, and was eventually demolished in the 1980s to make way for a large building at the corner of Piccadilly Circus and Haymarket.