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Portland Place
Portland Place is one of the broadest and most formally composed streets in London, running due north from Langham Place to the southern entrance of Park Crescent, where it meets the Marylebone Road. It falls within the W1B postcode and forms the eastern boundary of the Howard de Walden Estate, which owns properties along its western side.
The street was originally laid out in the 1770s by the Adam brothers, James and Robert, who designed a series of large townhouses along what was then considered a generous width for a residential street. When John Nash devised his grand processional route from Carlton House to the new Regent's Park in 1811, he incorporated Portland Place into the axis, using a short curved stretch of Langham Place to align the existing street with Regent Street to the south. For much of the 19th century it was described as one of the most exclusive residential addresses in London.
The street's character changed significantly in the 20th century. Many of the original Adam houses were lost to redevelopment, and Portland Place became associated with institutional and diplomatic uses. BBC Broadcasting House, opened in 1932, occupies the southern end of the street. Today the street retains a formal, boulevard quality, with embassies, learned societies and professional organisations occupying many of the surviving and rebuilt terraces. The Howard de Walden Estate manages several of the properties on the western side, including office space at No. 30. For the crescent at its northern end, see Park Crescent.
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