King's Cross is an inner-city district in London. It spreads over an area that includes parts of the London Borough of Camden and the London Borough of Islington, some 2.5 miles (4.8 km) to the north of Charing Cross.
The name King's Cross is said to date back to 1835, when King George IV built a sixty-foot structure crowned by a statue of himself. That structure is the "King's Cross", but it was highly unpopular with the locals. It only stood for ten years, and was demolished in 1845, by which time the name King's Cross has stuck.
St George the Martyr Southwark, London Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King%27s_Cross_platform_7.jpg Author: Mike Peel
Not a particularly affluent neighbourhood, the King's Cross area was used as a rail transportation hub for London. It has the highest concentration of railway stations in the city, with the King's Cross Railway Station side-by-side to the St Pancras Railway Station, while the Euston Road Railway Station is not far away.
By the 1980's, the King's Cross area has slipped to become a decadent part of town, notorious for drug peddling and prostitution. This reputation kept rent low and "quality tenants" away.
Traffic on the streets at King's Cross Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King%27s_Cross_traffic_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1468180.jpg Author: Stephan McKay
Revitalization of the King's Cross area began in 1992, with the opening of the London Canal Museum, and other projects such as the Gagosian Gallery and the present location for the British Library. The introduction of the high speed train link to St Pancras International Station was another catalyst to the development of King's Cross, which should see itself being reinvented and gentrified over the years.
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