Oxford Street It was known as Tyburn Road through the Middle Ages when it was notorious for public hangings of prisoners in Newgate Prison. It became known as Oxford Road and then Oxford Street in the 18th century, and began to change from residential to commercial and retail purposes by the late 19th century, attracting street traders, confidence tricksters and prostitution. The first department stores in Britain opened in the early 20th century, including Selfridges, John Lewis and HMV. Unlike nearby shopping streets such as Bond Street, it has retained an element of downmarket trading alongside more prestigious retail stores. The street
Selfridges, Oxford Street influenced by John Burnet's 1904 extension to the British Museum. The steel supporting columns are hidden behind Ionic columns, to create a facade which present a visually uniform, classical, Beaux-Arts appearance. The distinctive polychrome sculpture above the Oxford Street entrance is the work of British sculptor Gilbert Bayes. The final frontage, through use of cast iron window frames to a maximum size of by , means that both the Oxford Street and Duke Street frontages are made up of more glass than stone or iron works. Opened on 15 March 1909, the store was built in phases. The first phase