Baker Street was laid out in the 18th century by the builder William Baker, after whom it is named.
Baker Street, in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster, stands on the Portman Estate – in 1553 Sir William Portman bought nearly 300 acres of land in the area; 200 years later development of the Portman estate began. William Baker, a "Gentleman of Marylebone", leased land from the Portman Estate, and laid out the street in 1755.
The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B Baker Street address in the northern (NW1) end of the street. The area is now mainly occupied by commercial premises, having been residential.
Running south from Marylebone Road, the W1 section of Baker Street runs through Portman Square and Wigmore Street. After Portman Square the road continues as Orchard Street.
In 1940 the headquarters of the Special Operations Executive moved to 64 Baker Street, they were often called the "Baker Street Irregulars" after Sherlock Holmes’ gang of street urchins of the same name.
The Beatles’ Apple Boutique was based at 94 Baker Street from 1967 to 1968.
For many years the head office of Marks & Spencer, formerly the United Kingdom’s largest retailer, was at "Michael House" (named in parallel with the group’s "St Michael" brand), 55 Baker Street, until the company relocated to the Paddington Basin in 2004. This was one of the best known corporate buildings in the United Kingdom, and has since been redeveloped as a modern office complex.
A London County Council blue plaque commemorates Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger who lived at 120 Baker Street from 1803 to 1804. British singer Dusty Springfield lived on Baker Street in the 1960s.
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