Before-and-after GIFs show how London has changed over the past 100 years
This 1888 photo of Regent's Circus, later renamed Oxford Circus, shows the busy intersection. In the foreground, a street musician wheels an organ. Most of the buildings have been torn down or redeveloped in the last 130 years.
The Palace Theater, built in the late 1880s, hosts live performances and film screenings. It looks almost the same today as it did in 1890.
The Fore Street slums, like many such areas throughout London, were cleared out early in the 20th century. The historical photo was taken in 1899.
London's civilians became a target during World War I. This 1915 photo shows damage caused by an air raid caused. Today, the same spot hosts an office building called Moor House.
Londoners line up for a show at His Majesty's Theater near Leicester Square in this 1923 photo. "The Phantom of the Opera" debuted at the theater in 1986 and still plays there today.
West Aldwych Street is just as busy today as it was in 1930 — except cars now replace horse-drawn carriages.
This GIF compares the scene after the 1940 WWII bomb blitz at Balham subway station to the area now. At the time, the blast burst water mains and flooded the station. Today, the road is completely paved.
In 1941, the famous Eros statue in Picadilly Circus was removed to protect it from bombs, and its pedestal was covered with sandbags. It was put back after WWII.
In 1942, the Marble Arch in Hyde Park was covered in campaign posters to persuade Londoners to buy war bonds. Following the widening of Park Lane in the early 1960s, the arch is now isolated on a large traffic island.
Eager crowds wait outside Winston Churchill's office for him to announce Japan's surrender in this 1945 image. Today, people pass by and go about their days.
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