America Square is a street and small square in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, off

Crosswall Crosswall is a street in the City of London. At its western end, the street begins at a junction with Crutched Friars and Cooper's Row. At its eastern end, the street is a turn off Minories. It is home to America Square, the City of London Medi ...

and located near

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

. The square was built in about 1760 and dedicated to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

colonies.

Richard Horwood map (1792-9) Square, Crescent and Circus

America Square was developed as part of Square, Crescent and Circus under plans by

George Dance the Younger George Dance the Younger RA (1 April 1741 – 14 January 1825) was an English architect and surveyor as well as a portraitist. The fifth and youngest son of the architect George Dance the Elder, he came from a family of architects, artists a ...

in 1768–1774. The Crescent was built at the expense of Sir Benjamin Hammet, who is commemorated by the name of another street in the area. He was a partner in the City bank of William Esdaile and was also alderman for the ward of

Portsoken Portsoken, traditionally referred to with the definite article as the Portsoken, is one of the City of London's 25 ancient wards, which are still used for local elections. Historically an extra-mural Ward, lying east of Aldgate and the City wal ...

Nathan Meyer Rothschild Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836) was an English-German banker, businessman and finance, financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, he was the third of the five sons of Gutle (Schnapper) and Mayer Amschel Roths ...

lived at No. 14 in the 19th century. The square was bombed in 1941, and Rothschild's house was demolished. Today, America Square is occupied by offices, restaurants and a gymnasium. The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

stations are

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...

(to the south) and

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

(to the north), and the nearest

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...

station is

Tower Gateway Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the City of London and is located near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It adjoins the tracks to Fenchurch Street station and is located on the site of a former station called Mino ...

, on Minories. Also nearby is

Fenchurch Street station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a key thoroughfare in th ...

, a mainline railway terminus with services towards east London and south Essex.

References

Streets in the City of London {{London-road-stub