Nash and Burton's street layout has survived, although all the original buildings except All Souls Church have been replaced following reconstruction in the late 19th century.

John Fordyce was appointed as Surveyor-General to the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1793 and concluded that there should be a suitable road in place by 1811, when the lease for Marylebone Park ran out and ownership reverted to the Crown.

[9] The street was designed by John Nash (who had been appointed to the Office of Woods and Forests in 1806 and previously served as an adviser to the Prince Regent) and by developer James Burton.

[9] The central section, known as the Quadrant, was designed for "shops appropriated to articles of fashion and taste," and was Nash's centrepiece for the street.

[18] James Burton, the pre-eminent Georgian London property developer, designed and constructed 191 of the houses of Regent Street, and their joining archways.

[12] As the 99-year leases came to an end, Regent Street was redeveloped between 1895 and 1927 under the control of the Office of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues (now known as the Crown Estate).

[27] The architect Norman Shaw, then aged 73, was brought in to draw up proposals for the Circus and the Quadrant after early plans were considered unsatisfactory.

His scheme was approved in principle but subject to indecision and dispute, both on property acquisition and retailers' demand for bigger display windows.

[29] A limited number of architects were responsible for the redesigned street, including Sir John James Burnet,[30] Arthur Joseph Davis[31] and Henry Tanner.

[33] Meanwhile, the Bakerloo line of the London Underground was built running under the street for part of its course from 1902 until 1906, when it was opened on 10 March that year.

[34] The line's entrance at Oxford Circus tube station, near Argyll Street, was designed by Leslie W. Green using glazed terracotta as a facing material.

Smaller shops have been replaced by larger units; the street is now the flagship location of several major brands, including Apple and Banana Republic.

It was founded by entrepreneur Arthur Lasenby Liberty, who had been inspired by the 1862 International Exhibition and wanted to open an oriental warehouse.

[42] In 1925, this complex was replaced by two new buildings, and a mock tudor building (built by architects Edwin T. Hall and his son Edwin S. Hall, constructed from the timbers of two ships, HMS Impregnable, and HMS Hindustan on neighbouring Great Marlborough Street connected by a footbridge over Kingly Street, which separates the properties.

The store was frequently the first to market the latest games and toys, and became a strong seller of table tennis equipment in the late 19th century, allowing the sport to become popular.

Henry Morton Stanley is known to have worn Jaeger clothing during his search for David Livingstone in Africa, as is Robert Falcon Scott on his fated trip to the South Pole.

The lower ground floor sold womenswear and also housed Austin's, the refurbished Art Deco Barber Shop.

[55] Swan and Edgar moved their haberdashery business into the newly-developed Regent Street in the 1820s; they first opened at number 49, and by 1848 had expanded into 45-51.

[56] Hedges and Butler, wine and spirits merchant established in 1667, moved into 153 Regent Street in 1819 and stayed there for a little under 200 years.

[57] Immediately north of Regent Street is the BBC's headquarters, Broadcasting House, whose front entrance is in Langham Place.

On 15 October 1940, the building took a direct hit, killing seven people, and later that year a landmine exploded on Portland Place, causing widespread fires in Broadcasting House.

Several rock groups performed live concerts here, including The Beatles, Queen and Pink Floyd, which were simultaneously recorded for broadcast.

In 1970 it was amalgamated with Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce to become the Polytechnic of Central London (PCL), which in turn became the University of Westminster in 1992.

It was built in 1823 out of Bath stone and consecrated in 1824, and is the only surviving building in Regent Street that was designed by John Nash.

[25][70] The Café Royal, located at 68 Regent Street in the Quadrant, was opened in 1865 by Daniel Nicols and became an institution of London high society.

[80] In 2016, the sport's chief manager, Bernie Ecclestone, speculated that a London Grand Prix may potentially happen in the future, including Regent Street as a part of the circuit.

[81] The character Lord Frederick Verisopht in Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby lived in an apartment in Regent Street.

[82] In August 1839, the first British commercial production of daguerreotype photographs were carried out in a property on Regent Street, shortly after the process had been publicly documented.

[83] The Langham Hotel on Regent Street is mentioned in several of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, including "The Sign of Four", "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax".

[85] Offshoot crescent road Heddon Street was the location for the cover photography for 1972 David Bowie album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.