Bankside is a district in the London Borough of Southwark. It's positioned on the southern bank of the River Thames, 2.4 km east of Charing Cross. It is a part of the business improvement district known as Better Bankside.
Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. During the Elizabethan period, these locations were out of the City of London’s jurisdiction so they became the homes of bear baiting pits and playhouses, such as the Rose, the Swan and the Globe Theatre. There has been a great deal of regeneration in recent years, becoming popular with vacationers. The skyline of Bankside is accentuated by the former Bankside Power Station, which is now the Tate Modern.
The Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street is the most major new development within the district. The 3 buildings house around 5,000 employees. Bankside One is also referred to as the Blue Fin Building and it is partially occupied by IPC Media, whilst Bankside Two and 3 are occupied by the Omnicom Group Ltd.
From 2010, many improvement schemes have transformed Blackfriars Road from the bridge to the south at St. George’s Circus and new buildings stand in place of post-World War II offices. These buildings are residential and hotel accommodation along its length, especially at the junction with Stamford Street exactly where lots of high rises happen to be built.