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Foyles Building
The Foyles Building at 111–119 Charing Cross Road and 1–12 Manette Street, London, was the flagship store of the Foyles bookshop chain from 1929 to 2014, and at one time, the world's largest bookshop. The business moved next door to 107–109 Charing Cross Road in 2014, in a redevelopment of the old Saint Martin's School of Art building. The building was demolished in 2017. History The building was designed by the architects F. Taperell and H. Haase and built from 1927 before opening in 1929. It was at one time claimed to be the world's largest bookshop. William Foyle stated that it was "the world's first purpose-built bookshop" (although this is disputed), as well as the world's largest. In 1932, on hearing that the Nazis were burning books, William Foyle sent Adolf Hitler a telegram asking if he could buy them instead. During the Second World War, to safeguard the store from the effects of the Blitz, sandbags filled with old books were used, and the roof was "covered" wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soho Foyles Bookshop 1
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and has also been known for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store locations. The area's history is an archetypal example of inner-city regeneration and gentrification, encompassing Socioeconomics, socioeconomic, cultural, political, and architectural developments. The name "SoHo" derives from the area being "South of Houston Street", and was coined in 1962 by Chester Rapkin, an urban planner and author of ''The South Houston Industrial Area'' study, also known as the "Rapkin Report". The name also recalls Soho, an area in London's West End of London, West End. Almost all of SoHo is included in the SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District, which was designated by the New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manette Street
Manette Street is a small street in the Soho area of London, linking the Charing Cross Road to Greek Street. Dating from the 1690s, and formerly named Rose Street, it is now named after the fictional character of Dr Manette in Charles Dickens's ''A Tale of Two Cities'', who is described in the book as living on a quiet street corner "not far from Soho Square". Buildings on the street include the Pillars of Hercules pub. The House of St Barnabas has a chapel and garden facing onto Manette Street, and an entrance to The Borderline nightclub is accessed from Manette Street. The street was home to the now-demolished Foyles Building and also Goldbeater's House, which had an arm-and-hammer sign outside it, a replica of the original described by Dickens in ''A Tale of Two Cities''. The street was associated with anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadiq Khan
Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (, ; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting (UK Parliament constituency), Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Khan is on the party's soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat. Born in Tooting, South London, to a British Pakistani family, Khan earned a law degree from the University of North London. He subsequently worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights issues and chaired the Liberty (advocacy group), Liberty advocacy group for three years. Joining the Labour Party, Khan was a councillor for the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006 before being elected MP for Tooting at the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 general election. He was openly critical of several policies of Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, including the 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by law it must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition or structural alteration. Goals The society, a registered charity, fights to protect Victorian and Edwardian heritage from demolition or careless alteration. As a membership organisation, the majority of its funding comes from subscription fees and events. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Victorian Society is a statutory consultee on alterations to listed buildings, and by law must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. The society: * Provides advice to churches and local planning authorities on how Victorian and Edwardian buildings and landscapes can be adapted to modern use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens, advising central and local government, and promoting the public's enjoyment of, and advancing their knowledge of, ancient monuments and historic buildings. History The body was created by the National Heritage Act 1983, and operated from April 1984 to April 2015 under the name of English Heritage. In 2015, following the changes to English Heritage's structure that moved the protection of the National Heritage Collection into the voluntary sector in the English Heritage Trust, the body that remained was rebranded as Historic England. The body also inherited the Historic Engla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soho Estates
Soho Estates is a British property company created by the entrepreneur and pornographer Paul Raymond. The holdings of Soho Estates are mainly based in Soho, a district in the West End of London. As of March 2025, the company's portfolio has an estimated value of £1.1 billion. Through Soho Estates Holdings Limited and parent company FIJ Holdings Limited, it is controlled by Raymond's granddaughter Fawn Ilona James and her stepfather John James. History Projects include the Autumn 2016 demolition of the Foyles Building at 111-119 Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street), which then merges into Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direc ..., replaced by a new building, Ilona Rose House. In March 2025, it was announced that Fawn James would take over the day-to-day management of the business from April onwards. Refere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilona Rose House, Charing Cross Road, January 2022 01
''Ilona'' is a feminine given name used primarily in Hungary and Finland, as well as in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The name Ilona is the Hungarian form of the Greek name Helenē (Ἑλένη), which is commonly interpreted to mean “torch,” “light,” or “shining one.” The name likely entered Hungarian through Slavic intermediaries such as Jelena. In Hungarian folklore, Ilona is also known as the name of the Queen of the Fairies, a mythical figure associated with beauty, magic, and enchantment.Lőrincz, László. ''Hungarian Folk Mythology''. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1982. In Finland, Ilona is used independently of its Greek or Hungarian roots. It is commonly associated with the Finnish word ilo, meaning “joy.” In this context, ilona can be understood as “as a joy o someone” though this interpretation is a folk etymology and not linguistically related to the Greek origin. People *Archduchess Ilona of Austria (1927-2011) * Ilona Andrews, join ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Saint Martins
Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short and summer courses. It was formerly known as Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, and before that as Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. History Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design was formed in 1989 from the merger of the Central School of Art and Design, founded in 1896, and Saint Martin's School of Art, founded in 1854. Since 1986 both schools had been part of the London Institute, formed by the Inner London Education Authority to bring together seven London art, design, fashion and media schools. The London Institute became a legal entity in 1988, could award taught degrees from 1993, was granted university status in 2003 and was renamed University of the Arts London in 2004. It also includes Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Argonaut
''The Argonaut'' was a newspaper based in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1956. It was founded by Frank Somers, and soon taken over by Frank M. Pixley, who built it into a highly regarded publication. Under Pixley's stewardship it was considered "the leading literary production of the San Francisco press and was a powerful influence in State and municipal politics." The magazine was known for containing strong political Americanism combined with art and literature. Many 19th-century writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Yda Addis, Emma Frances Dawson, and Gertrude Atherton appeared regularly in its pages. It was considered one of the most important publications in California, and it had a great deal of political influence. As a staunch Republican, Pixley used ''The Argonaut'' to support Leland Stanford and other owners of the Central Pacific Railroad. Pixley, who served as ''The Argonaut''s editor and publisher, had been California's eighth attorney general when Stanford ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foyles Bookstore
Foyles, a trading name of Waterstones Booksellers Limited (formerly W & G Foyle Ltd.), is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as the world's largest bookshop in terms of shelf length, at , and of the number of titles on display. It was bought by Waterstones in 2018. Foyles was famed in the past for its anachronistic, eccentric and sometimes infuriating business practices (see below), so much so that it became a tourist attraction. It has since modernised, and has opened several branches and an online store. History Founding and early branches Brothers William and Gilbert Foyle founded the business in 1903. After failing entrance exams for the civil service, the brothers offered their redundant textbooks for sale and were inundated by offers. This inspired them to launch a second-hand book business from home. Flushed with success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
