Old London Theatre Map

Historical Background MacDonald Gill created this Theatreland map in 1915 as a colourful guide to the theatres of London’s West End. Rather than presenting the district as a conventional street plan, he drew it as a lively pictorial townscape in which buildings, theatres, public spaces and Underground stations compete for the viewer’s attention. Map Details • Original title: Theatreland • Cartographer and artist: MacDonald Gill • Date: 1915 • Commissioned for: London Underground • Printer: The Westminster Press • Area shown: London’s West End theatre district • Orientation: North approximately towards the top • Map style: Pictorial bird’s-eye plan • Notable features: Theatre names, Underground roundels, street scenes and theatrical figures The map covers the heart of London’s entertainment district, including the Strand, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Individual theatres are marked by small illustrated façades carrying their names, allowing the viewer to pick out venues among the surrounding streets and buildings. Gill incorporated the Underground directly into the design. Familiar roundels identify nearby stations, while the decorative border pairs station names with the theatres they served. The map therefore worked both as an entertaining piece of commercial art and as a practical encouragement to travel by Underground. The border is an important part of the composition. Theatre names appear within roundels along the top and sides, while the lower margin resembles the edge of a stage populated by actors, musicians, stagehands and other figures associated with a theatrical production. Published during the First World War, the map records a West End whose theatres remained an important part of London life. Several of the venues shown still survive, while others have disappeared, changed their names or been rebuilt. Gill’s distinctive combination of accurate place names, decorative lettering and gentle humour made his pictorial maps immediately recognisable. Theatreland remains a richly detailed record of London’s West End and of the imaginative publicity commissioned by the Underground during the early twentieth century.