Baker Street

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This article is about the street in London. For other uses, see Baker Street (disambiguation).

94 Baker Street, formerly the Apple Boutique.

Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It forms part of the A41. It is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221B Baker Street, an address that does not actually exist. The street is named for builder William Baker who laid the street out in the eighteenth century. It was originally a high class residential address, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises.

Baker St is in postcode areas NW1/W1 and is a busy thoroughfare. It runs south from Regent's Park, the intersection with Park Road, parallel to Gloucester Place, intersecting Marylebone Road, York Street, Portman Square and Wigmore Street. At the intersection with Wigmore St, Baker St turns into Orchard Street, which ends when it intersects with Oxford Street.

The street is served by the London Underground by Baker Street tube station; next to the station is Transport for London's lost property office. Baker Street Station is the world's first underground station.

A significant robbery of a Lloyds Bank took place on Baker Street in 1971.

[edit] Notable residents

In 1835, the first permanent exhibition of Madame Tussauds waxworks was opened on Baker St. The museum moved, just around the corner, to Marylebone Road in 1884.

In 1940 the headquarters of the Special Operations Executive moved to 64 Baker Street, Marks and Spencer office; they were often called the "Baker Street Irregulars" after Sherlock Holmes's gang of street urchins of the same name.

The Beatles Apple Corp was based at 94 Baker Street,

The head office of Marks and Spencer, formerly the UK's largest retailer, was at "Michael House" (named in parallel with the group's "St Michael" brand) in Baker Street for many years until the company relocated to the Paddington Basin in 2004. This was one of the best known corporate buildings in the UK. It is expected that Michael House will be demolished and replaced with a new mixed use development.

British singer Dusty Springfield lived on Baker St in the 1960s.

[edit] Media References

In fiction, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond^{[citation needed]}, DangerMouse, Sexton Blake, Basil The Great Mouse Detective and James Black (Case Closed) have all resided along the road.

“Baker Street” was a song by Gerry Rafferty, released in 1978, particularly noted for its saxophone solo.

The original title of "A Samba for Sherlock", by Jô Soares, makes a mention to the street: "O Xangô de Baker Street".

The street was also mentioned by the progressive rock band Jethro Tull in the song "Baker Street Muse" and by H.G. Wells at the end of The War of the Worlds.

The 2008 film, The Bank Job was based on the 1971 robbery of Lloyds Bank in Baker Street.