- Many of Oscar Wilde’s literary characters lived on Curzon Street, including Lord Henry Wotton from ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and Mrs Erlynne from ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ (who lived at 84A Curzon St).
- It is home to one of the most well-known cinemas in London , Curzon Mayfair Cinema. Built in 1963-66, the cinema is described by Historic England as “the finest surviving cinema building of the post-war period, it is also the least altered.”
- The street is said to be named after George Augustus Curzon, third Viscount Howe from the House of Curzon.
- Curzon Street and other locations around Mayfair began to attract commercial development after the City of London was destroyed during the Blitz, which led to many corporations establishing their headquarters in the area. To this day, many prominent businesses and embassies can be found around Curzon Street.
- Over 130 art galleries can be found in Mayfair and St James, along with world-famous auction houses and the Royal Academy of Arts, which is only a 10 minute walk away from Curzon Street itself.
- It resides in the most expensive property square on the Monopoly board!
7. Mayfair is named as such after the annual May Fair, which was held from 1686 to 1764. The May Fair was held every year at Shepherd Market, between Piccadilly and Curzon Street.
8. It’s just minutes away from The Ritz which is the only hotel in the world to have its name in the Oxford English Dictionary, which it entered in 1925. The informal term, ‘ritzy’, derives from the hotel, meaning fashionable, glamorous and expensive.
9. Residing in one of the most expensive areas to buy property in the UK, it doesn’t come cheap to purchase property on Curzon Street. Currently, the average price for a flat is £1,769,699, with a terraced house setting you back around £5,444,625.
10. During WWI and WWII, the wealthy residents of Mayfair evacuated their homes and in turn, Westminster City Council allowed their residences to be developed into offices for spies – Leconfield House of Curzon Street itself was once the headquarters of the MI5.
