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
Regent Street and the original buildings were small and old fashioned, restricting trade. The colonnade constructed by Nash was demolished in the mid-19th century for fear it might attract "doubtful characters." Other buildings were not up to modern building standards; some had been extended and were structurally suspect. As the 99-year leases came to an end, Regent Street was redeveloped between 1895 and 1927 under the control of the Office of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues (now known as the Crown Estate). The modern Regent Street is the result of this redevelopment. No original structures survive except south of Oxford Circus for