Bankside is a district in the London Borough of Southwark. It is positioned around the southern bank of the River Thames, 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross. It is part of the business improvement district known as Better Bankside.
Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. For the duration 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, such as the Rose, the Swan and the Globe Theatre. There has been a great deal of regeneration in current years, becoming well known 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 inside the district. The 3 buildings house about 5,000 staff. Bankside 1 is also called 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 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, especially at the junction with Stamford Street where plenty of high rises happen to be constructed.