The area takes its name from the shape of the terraced buildings on both sides.

The two sides combined give the street a distinctive crescent oval shape.

Adjoining the Church of the Sacred Heart was the Crescent College run by the Jesuit Order.

The site is now occupied by Limerick Tutorial College, a fee paying private school.

Offices, educational facilities (such as English schools) and some residential lettings occupy the Georgian buildings that line The Crescent.