Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and later for its car dealers.
Long Acre pictured in 1991
Austin Motors showroom, at 134 Long Acre, circa 1910
Freemasons' Hall at the eastern end of Long Acre
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, itself known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the historical buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the London Transport Museum and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Interior of the former vegetable market, 2006
The Earl of Bedford was given Covent Garden in 1552.
Plan of Covent Garden in 1690
Charles Fowler's 1830 neo-classical building restored as a retail market