Oxford Street, London 1972

Description

Oxford Street, London, 1972 — looking west at the junction with North Audley Street.
This lively early-’70s scene captures Oxford Street at its bustling best. Taken from the corner of North Audley Street, the view looks towards Marble Arch as crowds spill across the pavements and a steady stream of period traffic heads west.

On the left is the long 1960s retail parade that once housed an Angus Steak House, its bold red signage clearly visible here. This entire block — along with most of the surrounding post-war frontage — has since been completely redeveloped, giving the area a very different appearance today.

To the right of the frame, a Routemaster RM with registration CUV 282C waits at the lights, heading west in classic red-liveried style. Behind it, more buses queue along the street, emphasising how heavily Oxford Street relied on surface transport before later pedestrian-focused proposals began to reshape the area.

The mix of black cabs and vintage cars, together with packed pavements and mid-century shopfronts, captures Oxford Street in 1972 perfectly — lively, crowded and unmistakably part of London’s West End in its pre-redevelopment era.