Crescent lies behind Tower Gateway.
Built at the same time as America Square and the Circus, the Crescent was the second part of George Dance’s plans.
Crescent was the first planned crescent in London and introduced the concept of curved street frontages. Crescent was built at the same time as John Woods’s Royal Crescent in Bath.
The Crescent was originally eleven identical houses. The development of the railways had a major impact on the Crescent. The Fenchurch Street viaduct separated it from America Square in 1841. In 1884, the Metropolitan District Railway sliced diagonally through The Crescent, necessitating the demolition of houses.
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