Sandwiched between Tottenham Court Station and Kingsway lies the busy road of New Oxford Street; the lesser known and slightly less chaotic little brother of the bigger Oxford Street. Although most Londoners assume that this road is little more than a pathway from getting from A to B, it hosts a variety of restaurants, retail and office space for the employees that work in the offices above. It’s also home to a few quirky museums – the most interesting being the Museum of Comedy. This little treasure holds Tommy Cooper’s handmade magic props, membership cufflinks from the infamous Krays-owned Churchill Club, and Bill Bailey’s six-neck guitar.

New Oxford street’s history sits somewhere in the middle of that of Bloomsbury and Oxford Street’s histories. Oxford Street itself was established by the Romans and later became Tyburn Road in the middle ages when it was the last location of criminals due to hang. However, it was in the 18th century that the area started to get its commercial reputation as a hotspot for shopping – Tottenham Court Road became particularly noted for being a great place to buy cabinets and other furniture. However, underneath the luxury retail, the black market and more anti-social activities also flourished in the neighbourhood. For example, in 1914, Meux’s Brewery, underneath the Dominion Theatre, was responsible for the great beer flood, in which 1 million litres of a beer formed a 15-foot wave that killed eight people.

In George Bernard Shaw’s famous play, Pygmalion, which was the basis of the film My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle sold flowers on the corner of Tottenham Court Road. The name of the play comes from Greek Mythology, where the sculptor Pygmalion falls in love with one of his female sculptures after it comes to life.

Due to its proximity to Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, New Oxford street suffers acutely from one of the highest levels of air pollution in the city. It also struggles with issues of congestion and overcrowding. These are currently heightened by the vast amounts of construction work going on in the area, as it is undergoing one of the biggest renovation programmes in the whole of the city.

The development of the Elizabeth Line and its connection to Tottenham Court Road has forced the council to vastly expand the station, which is expected to become busier than Heathrow airport. In conjunction with this vast increase in footfall, the surrounding commercial areas and streetscapes are being majorly improved through a £150m plan to reduce pollution and congestion. Preliminary works for the scheme began in mid-2021, when COVID-19 restrictions were eased. Additionally, the iconic Centre Point tower; one of London’s key skyscrapers, has been renovated to a higher environmental and living standard, and its outdated office spaces have been converted to housing, including 13 affordable units that have been transferred to the local housing association.