Oxford Street No. 400. Most of the southern side west of Davies Street was completely rebuilt between 1865 and 1890, allowing a more uniform freehold ownership. By the 1930s, the street was almost entirely retail, a position that remains today. However, unlike nearby streets such as Bond Street and Park Lane, there remained a seedy element including street traders and prostitutes. Aside from a number of fixed places, there are no provisions for selling licensed goods on Oxford Street. Oxford Street suffered considerable bombing during the Second World War. During the night and early hours of 17 to 18 September 1940, 268
Regent Street some Nash-designed sewers. The current design is an example of the Beaux Arts approach to urban design: an assembly of separate buildings on a grand scale, designed to harmonise and produce an impressive overall effect. Strict rules governed the reconstruction. Each block had to be designed with a continuous unifying street façade and finished in Portland stone. The first redevelopment was Regent House, just south of Oxford Circus. The stylistic tone for the rebuilding was set by Sir Reginald Blomfield's Quadrant. The architect Norman Shaw, then aged 73, was brought in to draw up proposals for the Circus and the