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1890 + Oxford Street

I was looking for period photos of the Reilly buildings in London. I'm sure they're out there somewhere. But here are a few photos of Oxford Street which will illustrated the times they lived and worked in:

1) 1890: There is a 154 on a building on the left and the Princess's Theodora Theater - and though both are gone, the neighboring building windows look to match this modern google photo taken from the current 154 Oxford Street address - see the windows above the "footwear sign";

(And by the way, I remember those type of awnings over the central square in my small town in Florida in the 1950's where I grew up before a/c; And to go downtown, we had to put on long pants. In this era-1890's, if you didn't wear a tie, you were a ditch-digger. No flip flops). --- (and there was an amazing problem of horse dung at the time...so much so some predicted a climate disaster.)

Note: Oxford Street runs pretty much east-west. Awnings are out on the North side of the street (sun at this latitude will be in the south - shadow's are oriented north pretty true north (i.e. around 12 noon)(shadows are short so probably summer time) - so the photo was taken facing east down Oxford Street - i.e. numbers would be declining towards 16 which would be almost at the end of the street on the left.....277 and 295 (and Regents Circus) would be behind the photo. Welcome orientation from the Londoners here:



From google - Summer time (short sleeves); Shadows are long and slanting towards the east - probably about 5:00 PM. 16 Oxford St. would have been across the street from that tall financial business tower in the distance.



Likewise on this view: Again awnings are on the North side of the street. The photo is taken from 358 (see below) facing east. 295 Oxford Street and 277 Oxford Street would lie down the street on the right side - 295 being about three streets down...277 further along: reasoning: There is a slight bend in the road to the right in the photo ; the only possibility I can see from a google map is a fade to the right just after Regent's Circus...Reilly 277 and 295 would have been on the right before the bend. The 2nd empire style turret on the right would be a block before 295. 16 would be out of sight far in the distance. Again, Londoners need to chime in.



Here's an explanation of from where the photo was taken:
358-New Oxford Street 1903
The building on the far left was replaced by a Burton menswear store, which still stands today. All the other buildings on the left side of the street were demolished, probably some time in the late 1920's or early 1930's. The second block on the left went on to house Imhof's record shop, now a Starbucks coffee house - see the next picture in this set. The bank building on the far right remained here up until the early 1960's, when it was demolished to make way for Centre Point.

And here is the old 1903 EH Evans department store which was located at 318 Oxford (though I can't pin down the address...they were busy acquiring a whole city block including 296...near to Reilly's 295 (to which they'd just "removed" from 277) one supposes - though you never know with European addresses):
-- Awnings on the right which would be north side of the street. The photo was taken facing west...295 would be across the street and in the block just behind the viewer; 277 be further behind the viewer. Can any Londoner identify that prominent building on the south side of Oxford Street with the spires? It's long gone now.



Here is that view today though from across the street; House of Fraser is EH Evans. Lots of good looking buildings gone. That Fraser department store front was built in 1910-12. 295 would be one block further on behind the photo.



I guess photographs have a power of reality...and to compare where the Reilly's were in 1860 with their buildings and business...and see that little hole his son wound up in in 1912 is pretty evocative...It's also a lesson in the smear campaign run against Damascus barrels at the time...and maybe the result of an early "Amazon.com" phenomenon...the destruction of the artisan by the steel barrel mass-productionists.


Last edited by Argo44; 09/05/18 08:40 PM.
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