Leicester Square

[Monkey]

I think they could put one of those round glass Tokyo-style buildings on the site of the Swiss centre but I'm not in favour of apeing Times Square or chopping down all the trees. Leicester Square is already much nicer than Times Square.

[London]

The great unique identity of P.C is its tradditional buildings. Minus the modern shops, you would've thought you travelled back in time - always a nice thing.

Thats what makes it different from the futuristic architecture of Chinese major shopping districts

Alot of tourists from america have always said that "it reminds us of time square, but better"

[wjfox]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Leicester Square is already much nicer than Times Square.

Really? I find that hard to believe.

[bazzup]

Originally Posted by wjfox2002

Really? I find that hard to believe.

Times Square is nothing but a traffic intersection with some lights

There's precious little actual square

It's more like Piccadilly Circus, without Eros.

[Mr Bricks]

But the lights are very impressive don´t you think?

[El_Greco]

Originally Posted by SuomiPoika

I think Leicester square should be turned into a billboard paradise, like this:

Times square


Tokyo

Err..no thanks!

[wjfox]

What's so "puke"-inducing about that? I think it looks really cool and futuristic.

[El_Greco]

Traffic billboards noise colors etc.Ireally wouldnt want London/Leicester Sq. to look like that.

[JDRS]

It's a tough one because I would like London to have one area full of lights and neon; even moreso than Piccadilly at the moment. But placing more screens at Piccadilly Circus would cover up the beautiful older buildings. I wouldn't have too many problems with Leicester Square having a bit of light and a buzz, even though the square could potentially be quite relaxing and a nice place to be in the day without screens and lights.

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by wjfox2002

Really? I find that hard to believe.

Go to New York and see for yourself. I like Times Square. It does have a lot of lights and it does feel exciting. However, despite its' name, it's not a square, merely a sharply angled crossroads, and it feels very narrow and claustrophobic to me. There's none of the grand architecture that you get at Piccadlly Circus or Leicester Square. There's also very little in the way of nightlife around there. You walk away from Times Square in any drection and the action dies on you within a couple of streets. Manhattan has no equivalent of the West End with street after street packed full of cinemas, theatres, restaurants, clubs, cafes, and bars through Chinatown, Soho, Covent Garden etc. The West End is unrivalled anywhere in the Western world.

[Mr Bricks]

So you are saying there´s no districts with cinemas, restaurants, clubs etc...in Manhattan? What about broadway? Is the west end truly better than Manhattan?

[bazzup]

Originally Posted by SuomiPoika

But the lights are very impressive don´t you think?

Yes, the lights are great - and it looks fabulous in photos - but for the tourist on foot, Leicester Square is infinitely preferable, even if you think Leicester Square is too commercial, at least you can walk around it without having to cross eight lanes of traffic and there are places to sit. There's not much to actually do in Times Square. As has been said, it's just an intersection.

[bazzup]

Originally Posted by SuomiPoika

So you are saying there´s no districts with cinemas, restaurants, clubs etc...in Manhattan? What about broadway? Is the west end truly better than Manhattan?

I don't think he's saying that the West End is "better" than Manhattan - but he's spot on about the concentration of bars, restaurants, theatres, etc being unequalled in NY (or anywhere else). In Manhattan, the theatre district is in midtown but the cool bars etc tend to be down town. In London, the West End, Covent Garden and Soho blur in to one, which makes for a really amazing critical mass of nightlife.

[NothingBetterToDo]

I would love a district in London that was completely covered in Bill Boards, Advertisments and Bright lights. Picadilly circus goes somway to provide this......but i wouldnt like to see the beautiful buildings covered up anymore

I have always thought canary wharf would look bloody AMAZING, with lights, adverts, bill boards e.t.c......our very own, perhaps even better, version of Times square

[Mr Bricks]

Originally Posted by NothingBetterToDo

I would love a district in London that was completely covered in Bill Boards, Advertisments and Bright lights. Picadilly circus goes somway to provide this......but i wouldnt like to see the beautiful buildings covered up anymore

I have always thought canary wharf would look bloody AMAZING, with lights, adverts, bill boards e.t.c......our very own, perhaps even better, version of Times square

I agree.....more light would be great! I think the buildings at piccadilly should be covered with more billboards. Even people who think that would destroy the old and architectraly beatiful buildings should agree...there are many beatiful areas in London...so what if a couple of buildings are covered with neon signs! After all, a couple of decades ago this was the case.

[JDRS]

Originally Posted by SuomiPoika

I agree.....more light would be great! I think the buildings at piccadilly should be covered with more billboards. Even people who think that would destroy the old and architectraly beatiful buildings should agree...there are many beatiful areas in London...so what if a couple of buildings are covered with neon signs! After all, a couple of decades ago this was the case.

No, no. The buildings in Piccadilly Circus are quite nice and look tacky when covered up with giant billboards. I think NBTD has a good idea with CW but the problem is at night I don't imagine it's busy enough?

[potto]

The other thing is that we must remember that billboards are just giant advertising screens. Now at one point in time it must have seemed the epitomey of civilisation to have advertising plastered everywhere with old the wonderous products created by the empire, re old photos of pic circus.

However, today, arent we sick and tired of advertising? The marketing lies and hype, it now invades every pore of our being. Public art yes, even music videos in Leicester Sq, BBC News 24, digital photo galleries... but advertising? We have enough already thanks.

[JDRS]

But to be honest Potto most people go to Piccadilly Circus to suck in the atmosphere from the lights and buzz of the place, and don't pay much attention to the adverts. And I don't think the likes of the BBC or the Arts Council would pay for such things.

Still it would be preferable over advertising. I still think that London needs a good district with light/neon/giant screens as I love the feeling at night and it feels very 'urban'

[potto]

well I think piccadilly circus is a one-off event/place, historical and advanced which is why people come to see it. I think lighting is important in places with a late night economy but i think that we could do a bit better other than just spreading some fancy advertising billboards. That screen on the side of acquired by MTV building was a good exmaple of what we could achieve in that as far as i recall it showed music video type animation when the building was a nightclub. I was impressed with the 24hour news BBC screen in Manchester and liked the community feel of people sat below watching. Im sure any prospective, hotel, casino, cinema, retail developer could put up a few thousand to sponsor some animated screens showing art works, how about hook up with the National Gallery next door and have a digital exhibtion?

[DarJoLe]

Remember the new Leicetser Square will have screens embedded in the pavement running around it's edge.