Great Portland Street

There is always something to see in London.  I had a few minutes to spare before an appointment this morning so explored the area around Great Portland Street tube station.  I've never really looked at the station before but it was one of the stops on the first ever underground railway opened in 1863, "modernised" in the 1930s.  The BT Tower (soon to be converted into a hotel!) looms over it, today in the fog.  And the Greene Man pub proudly proclaims that it dates from 1799, though I think the facade has been substantially altered since then.  I could also have posted the former church opposite that was designed by Sir John Soane, or the plush doctors' offices in Harley Street nearby, or Park Square designed by John Nash as the main entrance into Regents Park, or the Royal Academy of Music, or Madame Tussauds or St Marylebone parish church - all within 2 minutes' walk...