Abbey Road Studios large garden behind the townhouse, which permitted a much larger building to be constructed to the rear; thus, the Georgian façade belies the true dimension of the building. Pathé filmed the opening of the studios in November 1931 when Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions of his music. In 1934, the inventor of stereo sound, Alan Blumlein, recorded Mozart's "Jupiter Symphony" which was conducted by Thomas Beecham at the studios. The neighbouring house is also owned by the studio and used to house musicians. During the mid-20th century, the studio was extensively used by leading British
Abbey Road, London The album's cover photograph shows the four group members walking across the zebra crossing just outside the studio entrance. As a result of its association with The Beatles, since 1969 this part of Abbey Road has been featured on the London tourism circuit. In December 2010 the crossing was given Grade II Listed Building status by English Heritage. The zebra crossing featured on the Beatles cover, as well as the crossing directly north of it, have become popular photo-opportunity areas, despite the road still being a busy thoroughfare for traffic. The Beatles album cover has been parodied many times over