London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Administrative division in East London, England
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is an administrative district in East London, stretching along the north bank of the Thames from Whitechapel to the Isle of Dogs. The area encompasses both the high-rise towers of Canary Wharf and the former docks of the Docklands, now converted into residential neighborhoods and parks.
Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green merged in 1965, with the name coming from the Tower Division, an old militia unit that drilled near the Tower of London. The docklands supplied the city for centuries before closing and being redeveloped in the 1980s.
The Bangladeshi community centers around Brick Lane, where Bengali script appears on shopfronts and the smell of spices fills the air on weekends. On Sundays, the pavements fill with food stalls, street vendors, and families moving between cafés and small shops.
The area is best explored on foot or by public transport, as streets are often narrow and parking is limited. Visitors coming from the west will find the Underground lines convenient, while the Docklands Light Railway connects the eastern sections.
Victoria Park, in the northern section, once served as a meeting point for political rallies and demonstrations during the 19th century. Today, local residents come here to jog, sail model boats on the ponds, or picnic on the lawns.
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