Bankside is a district in the London Borough of Southwark. It is positioned on the southern bank of the River Thames, 2.4 km east of Charing Cross. It's a 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. Throughout 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 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 significant new development within the district. The three buildings house around 5,000 staff. Bankside 1 is also known as the Blue Fin Building and it is partially occupied by IPC Media, while Bankside Two and 3 are occupied by the Omnicom Group Ltd.
From 2010, quite a few development 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, specially at the junction with Stamford Street exactly where numerous high rises have already been built.