London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
SOHO AND LEICESTER SQUARE.
The headquarters of the Grand Nation is still situated within view of those rival places of entertainment -the Empire and the Alhambra. In the | |
15 | north-east corner of Leicester Square stands , the national church of the French colony, where all religious functions connected with the history of our lively neighbours are celebrated. Before this place of worship was established the building was used for Burford's Panorama. To this day, those who remember the pictures of Switzerland can trace the ancient form. Where once was seen the Lake of Lucerne, now stands an altar, and the summit of the Righi is replaced by the portrait of a saint. Within a dozen yards of the church is the Empire, which, when it was first opened, also contained a panorama. Under the superintendence of the late Alfred Thompson a realistic representation of the battle of Balaclava was shown. In the foreground were some dummy lancers and broken drums. On one occasion the effect was somewhat spoiled by an old gentleman, one of the public, who had paid his shilling for admission, getting over the barrier to search for his dropped umbrella amongst the warlike debris. |
