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's part of the business improvement district generally known as Better Bankside.
Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. In the course of the Elizabethan period, these places were out of the City of London’s jurisdiction so they became the homes of bear baiting pits and playhouses, like the Rose, the Swan and the Globe Theatre. There has been a great deal of regeneration in recent years, becoming common with tourists. The skyline of Bankside is accentuated by the former Bankside Power Station, that is now the Tate Modern.
The Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street is the most significant new development inside the district. The three buildings house about 5,000 staff. Bankside 1 is also referred to as the Blue Fin Building and it's partially occupied by IPC Media, whilst Bankside 2 and Three are occupied by the Omnicom Group Ltd.
From 2010, numerous development schemes have transformed Blackfriars Road from the bridge towards 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, in particular at the junction with Stamford Street where numerous high rises have already been constructed.