Baker Street

Baker Street is a street in the London Borough of Marylebone in the borough of City of Westminster (NW1).

It is named after the builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century.

The street is best known for its association with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel Sherlock Holmes, who resided at the fictional address of 221B Baker Street to the north of the street in the late 19th century.

The address was first mentioned in the novel A Study in Scarlet in 1887, though at that time Baker Street addresses were in reality numbered only up to number 100.

Baker Street was later extended and in 1932 the Abbey National Building Society moved into its premises at 219-229 Baker Street. Abbey National employed a full-time secretary for many years to answer letters to Sherlock Holmes addressed to 221B.

In 1990, a blue plaque was placed by the City of London on the Sherlock Holmes Museum, located elsewhere in the same block, designating it the official 221B Baker Street. A 15-year dispute ensued between Abbey National and the Holmes Museum over the right to receive mail addressed to 221B Baker Street.

It was only after the closure of Abbey House in 2005 that the Holmes Museum became the sole and official recipient for mail addressed to 221B, despite its real location between 237 and 241 Baker Street. The official address is now:

The Sherlock Holmes Museum221b
Baker StreetNW1
6XE, London

The area was originally a prime residential area, but is now primarily occupied by commercial space.

The Baker Street subway station is today decorated in many ways with motifs of Sherlock Holmes. There also runs the line popularly known by the portmanteau Bakerloo since its opening in 1906.

During World War II, the secret Special Operations Executive (SOE) unit, also known as The Baker Street Irregulars in reference to Sherlock Holmes, was headquartered in Baker Street.

Trivia

• In 1978, Gerry Rafferty sang about the road in the rock song of the same name, notable for the saxophone solo played by Raphael Ravenscroft.

• Baker St. Muse "is a song from Jethro Tull's album Minstrel in the Gallery, released in 1975. (Baker Street is often mentioned in the lyrics of Jethro Tull songs).

• On 11 September 1971, a bank robbery took place at a branch of Lloyds Bank in Baker Street. The 2008 film The Bank Job is based on the 1971 Lloyds Bank robbery in Baker Street.

• The Seychelles maintain a consulate at 111 Baker Street.

• Dr. House also lives in a house with the number 221 and in apartment B (episode 7, season 2). In the episode Error Culture (season 7, episode 13), the address 221 Baker Street, Apt. B, Princeton, NJ 08542 can be seen on his driver's license, which can also be seen on the US immigration notice for House's wife Dominika in the episode Henry and the Women (season 8, episode 17).