Baker Street, located in Marylebone, is in the City of Westminster. The name originated from the man who laid out the streets in the 18th century for construction, William Baker (Guide to Baker Street). It started off as a high-class residential area and slowly turned into a commercial street of vendors (Baker Street Throughout the Years).
The street itself started off running from South Regent's Park to Park Road. It is noted that it was parallel to Gaucher's Place and had points with Marylebone Road, Portman Square, and Wigmore Street. Now, it lives in the postal areas NW1/W1 and forms a part of an A41 postal code (Baker Street). In the modern day, there has been construction to make it more accessible.
When it meets with Wigmore Street, Baxter Street turns into Orchid Street which then meets with Oxford Street. Known as historically Marylebone Circus, the crossroad of Baker Street in Marylebone Road was given this unofficial name. And its prime, the street was the first Madame Tussauds-operated wax museum in 1835. The museum ended up moving in 84. Historically, a famous sculptor James Fillan lived and worked off 82 Baker Street. Several other businesses operated on Baker Street, including Druce Furniture owned and operated by Thomas Charles Druce.
Presented 25 times in Amy Levy's The's Romance of a Shop, Baker Street is a significant catalyst for the plot. We are first introduced to Baker Street when the Lorimer sisters take a day shopping and walking around to the different vendors. As mentioned in the description, Baker Street houses an underground railroad. Phyllis utilizes this, and we also read Gertrude gets on the train above ground. As the story progresses we see that almost all of the sisters meet their love interests at the Baker Street businesses (Baker Street Circa 1800), showing just how important this location was for the plot. In the 19th century, street markets were commonly used for social gatherings and chatting with neighbors. The sisters used Baker Street in this same format. Baker Street became a famous attraction with references from Levy to more modern usage in the show Sherlock Holmes. Baker Street still has businesses and even houses the Museum for Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street. Along with housing businesses, Baker Street also served as London's underground tube station. It is one of the world's oldest surviving underground stations (Baker Street Station). It was next door to the lost property office of transport for London (Guide to Baker Street: History, Architecture, Business, and Tourism – London Office Buzz). Baker Street as depicted by Levy is still well and alive.
Works Cited
Guide to Baker Street: History, Architecture, Business, and Tourism – London Office Buzz. 22 Oct. 2012, www.londonofficespace.com/buzz/baker-street-guide.
“Baker Street.” placeandsee.com, placeandsee.com/wiki/baker-street. https://placeandsee.com/wiki/baker-street
“Baker Street Through the Years.” Getwestlondon, www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/gallery/baker-street-through-th…;
Baker Street Station. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baker_Street_station_entrance_2020.jpg#/media/File:Baker_Street_station_entrance_2020.jpg.
Baker Street Circa 1890. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/221B_Baker_Street.
Levy, Amy. The Romance of a Shop. Germinal Productions, Ltd/ Black Apollo Press, 1888.