Leake Street is a road and a road tunnel where graffiti is tolerated.
Leake Street is named after Dr John Leake, an 18th century physician whose pioneering General Lying-In Hospital (maternity) once stood nearby.
Leake Street is now also known as the ’Banksy Tunnel’ and is about 300 metres long, running off York Road and under the platforms and tracks of Waterloo station.
The walls are decorated with graffiti, initially created during the Cans Festival organised by Banksy on 3–5 May 2008.
While the Eurostar terminal was at Waterloo, the road was open for through vehicular traffic. On 14 November 2008 ownership of the road passed from Eurostar to Network Rail and through traffic was restricted to pedestrians.
Leake Street is also home to a theatre and arts space called The Vaults.
Prior to the 1920s the street was known as York Street which was built in the 1820s.
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