Oxford Street and other areas of Central London such as Bond Street and Piccadilly due to "pickpocketing, fraud and theft". The advent of closed-circuit television has reduced the area's attraction to scam artists and illegal street traders. Every Christmas, Oxford Street is decorated with festive lights. The tradition of Christmas lights began in 1959, five years after neighbouring Regent Street. There were no light displays in 1976 or 1977 because of economic recession, but the lights returned in 1978 when Oxford Street organised a laser display, and have continued every year since. Current practice involves a celebrity turning the lights on in
Paradise Street, Oxford Paradise Street, Oxford Paradise Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is in the St Ebbe's area of Oxford, to the southwest of Oxford Castle. The street runs from Paradise Square to Quaking Bridge, across Castle Mill Stream. It continues to the east into Castle Street. Historically, both Greyfriars and Blackfriars lived here. On the south side of the street is a late 17th-century house, Greyfriars, conserved in 1985. Swan Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the Castle Mill Stream forming part of Paradise Street. The bridge was Grade II listed in 1972. The Swan's Nest