Bankside is a district in the London Borough of Southwark. It's positioned on the southern bank of the River Thames, 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross. It is a part of the business improvement district called Better Bankside.
Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. Through the Elizabethan period, these regions were outside 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 good deal of regeneration in current years, becoming well-liked with tourists. 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 three buildings house around 5,000 workers. Bankside One is also generally known as the Blue Fin Building and is partially occupied by IPC Media, while Bankside 2 and Three are occupied by the Omnicom Group Ltd.
From 2010, quite a few 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 exactly where lots of high rises have been constructed.