Theatreland in London

As a poor student, I only visited Covent Garden theatres twice long after I studied and lived in South England. One was for Oliver Twist which starred by Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr. Bean) in 2009, another was Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies in 2010. But I know quite familiar with this place as it is just in short distance of Covent Garden and Leicester Square in which I always go.

After purchased the Geographers' Map Co's Pictorial Map of London (c.1945) and Geographia Ltd's New Pictorial Map of London (date unknow), I found out that some London maps, especially the ones focus on Central London, contain an inset of 'Theatreland' and 'Cinemaland'. It is doubtless that these 2 districts have been important to local and visitors' daily life, so I bough an original copy of Walter MacQueen-Pope's An Indiscreet Guide to Theatreland (1947) as research reference.

 book cover of Indiscreet Guide to Theatreland

end paper of the book - a map of theatreland

Wikipedia:

'Theatreland,' London's main theatre district, which contains approximately forty venues, is located in the heart of the West End of Central London, and is traditionally defined by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east.

section of the Pictorial Map of London, published by the Geographers' Map Co LTD, c.1945

section of the New Pictorial Map of London, published by the Geographia LTD (date unknown)

Theatreland Map, 1915. Artist: MacDonald Gill (Ref No. MLC17)

Your Guide to Theatreland, 1928. Artist: Reginald Percy Gossop (Ref No. MLC15)

Society Of London Theatre Google Maps

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/other_files/pdfs/theatrelandmap0908.pdf

Reference:

MacQueen-Pope, W.J. (1947). An Indiscreet Guide to Theatreland. London: Muse Art Limited.

http://www.london-theatreland.co.uk/