Park Lane (road)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Lane is a major road in Central London, England. Originally a country lane, it became a fashionable residential address from the eighteenth century onwards, with several large mansions such as the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor House and the Holford family's Dorchester House. After World War II the Lane was widened to three lanes each way either side of a central reservation, making it effectively an urban motorway. This required the demolition of a number of houses at Hyde Park Corner. It is one of the busiest and noisiest roads in central London, retaining little or none of the pastoral atmosphere that once made it popular. Access to Hyde Park is by underpass. In 2004 a memorial to Animals in War opened in Park Lane [1]
Park Lane is between three quarters of a mile and a mile in length, and runs north from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, along the length of the eastern flank of Hyde Park. To the east of the road is Mayfair. The road owes much of its fame to the fact that it is the second most valuable property in the London edition of Monopoly. Despite the traffic noise the road is still upmarket, featuring five-star hotels (such as The Dorchester and Grosvenor House Hotel) and showrooms for several makes of sports car.
The road forms part of the London Inner Ring Road and as such is part of the current boundary for the London congestion charge zone.
[edit] Former residents
- No. 93: Benjamin Disraeli - prime minister
- No. 99: Moses Montefiore - philanthropist
- No. 140: Keith Clifford Hall - contact lens pioneer
- Aldford House: Dame Anna Neagle - actress
- Grosvenor House: Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster - richest man in England, race horse owner, philanthropist.
- Londonderry House: Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry - cabinet minister
- No. 55: Hyde Park Residence[2]: Chika Sylva-Olejeme - Peace crusader, Founder International Peace Institute
[edit] Reference
Some of the residents' names are from the blue plaque website.
[edit] External link
