From snails to street signs: Soho's history revealed on a new digital map

"From Greek Street's gilded snail to vintage adverts on a Poland Street car park - Soho's streets are alive with layers of visual heritage, and now, for the first time, all of that history has been brought together in one place. The Soho Heritage Map, created by the Soho Neighbourhood Forum, is a new website that maps the surviving heritage of the Soho area."

"For the past year, nearly 700 heritage assets have been catalogued as part of a detailed street audit commissioned by the Soho Neighbourhood Forum. The survey, led by urban designers Publica and Soho-based urban design specialist Bahar Durmaz-Drinkwater, recorded a rich variety of features - from long-standing businesses and historic façades to plaques, street furniture, ghost signs and traces of Soho's industrial past such as cranes and cobbled yards."

"There are some useful filters on the map so you can filter by type or a half-century time frame. So if you're interested in public art from 1650 to 1750, you can filter for it - the answer by the way is...none. But there are street signs from that period, and they're often rather artistic."

The Soho Heritage Map records and displays surviving visual and intangible heritage across the Soho area. Nearly 700 heritage assets were catalogued through a detailed street audit commissioned by the Soho Neighbourhood Forum. The survey, led by Publica and Bahar Durmaz-Drinkwater, documented features including long-standing businesses, historic façades, plaques, street furniture, ghost signs, cranes and cobbled yards. The interactive map includes filters by type and by half-century time frames. An accompanying database of intangible assets, compiled from Westminster and Metropolitan Archives material, provides additional historical context. The resource is available online as the Soho Visual Heritage Map.

Read at ianVisits