Soho

Soho, area of the City of Westminster, London, England. Soho lies within the boundaries of Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square, and Regent Street, and is a lively and cosmopolitan neighbourhood of restaurants, pubs, theatres, and shops. Soho has been identified as part of London since the 17th century, its name originating as a hunting cry when the area was open countryside. French immigrants (having left their homes after the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685) moved to Soho and are reputed to have established the area as a centre of international cuisine. Italian and Chinese restaurants are also numerous. London's Chinatown is centred around Gerrard Street, while Wardour Street is the home of the British film industry. It was in Frith Street that television was first demonstrated by John Logie Baird. Famous Soho residents have included Mozart, Karl Marx, John Dryden, William Hazlitt, and the botanist Sir Joseph Banks. The House of St Barnabas in Soho (1750) is one of many notable local buildings.