Old Street underground station was originally built and opened in 1901, undergoing a rebuild in 1925. The station and its surroundings were modified in the late 1960s replacing all surface buildings, with the underground structure which still stands today.

More recently, the area has played a significant role in the UK’s thriving tech and art scenes. Old Street plays host to part of Europe’s largest cluster of tech start-ups, and sits just behind San Francisco and New York City in the world ranking. The Old Street District is also home to numerous galleries, the Royal Drawing School and a number of Banksy’s most recognisable pieces. You can find both ‘Guard Dog’ and ‘His Masters’ Voice’ on Rivington Street, as well as one of Banksy’s famous rat piece on Chiswell Street all within the area.

The area has become a hub for street artists in general – you can see everything from huge, building-sized murals, to tiny Banksy-inspired stencils. You can even take guided tours to see the Old Street district’s incredible street art.

St. Luke’s Church is an historic Anglican church building. St Luke’s served the community as a church from 1733 until it was closed in 1964 after being declared unsafe. The roof was removed for safety reasons in 1966.An empty, overgrown shell of the church stood as a dramatic ruin for 40 years.

After several controversial renovation attempts, the site was eventually redeveloped for use by London Symphony Orchestra.

St Luke’s is now an operational music centre. The LSO use the space for rehearsals, and a wide variety of musicians record and perform there. The former crypts have even been transformed into practice rooms for professionals, students and community groups, with over 1000 burials removed during the restoration.

The Old Street District Partnership in conjunction with Nomad Cinema also host an annual film screening, accompanied by the fantastic LSO orchestra. This is a fantastic community event that becomes more popular every year and it is a true celebration of the local community.

Shoreditch Town Hall was built in the 1860s. In 1888, Shoreditch Town Hall was where the inquest into the murder of Mary Kelly, the last victim of Jack the Ripper, took place. The building has triumphed over great tragedies- overcoming  a fire in 1904 and surviving World Wars I and II. By the mid-20th century, it was used to host local boxing matches and on 22 September 1955 fifty minutes of live boxing was transmitted from the Town Hall during ITV’s first ever broadcast.Today, Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent arts, events and community space, which welcomes over 70,000 people each year.

Across the road from the Town Hall, you’ll find the Shoreditch Courthouse. Completed in 1905, the building served as a magistrate’s court and police station until 1998.

It has since been redeveloped into the luxurious Courthouse Hotel, which maintains five of its original prison cells, now private booths in the hotel’s Jailhouse Bar.