Abbey Road, Street with zebra crossing in St John's Wood, London, England
Abbey Road is a thoroughfare of about one mile in the London Borough of Camden and the City of Westminster, running northwest to southeast through St John's Wood near Lord's Cricket Ground as part of the B507. It begins at Quex Road and West End Lane in Kilburn and ends at Grove End Road and Garden Road, crossing Priory Road, Belsize Road, Boundary Road, Clifton Hill, Carlton Hill and Marlborough Place. At its southeastern end, at 3 Abbey Road, stands Abbey Road Studios; the zebra crossing outside its entrance is painted with broad white stripes on grey asphalt, with white zigzag lines along both edges.
Abbey Road was once a track leading to Kilburn Priory and its Abbey Farm, developed from the early 19th century. The Abbey Road & St John's Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society was founded there in 1874. In 1969 the Beatles named their last studio LP after the street, whose cover shows them on the zebra crossing outside EMI's studios; the crossing was Grade II listed in December 2010.
The zebra crossing near the studios draws hundreds of visitors each day who attempt to recreate the famous album cover. Many of them leave handwritten messages and song lyrics on the white wall just beside it.
The Jubilee Line brings visitors to St John's Wood station, from where it is about a five-minute walk north along Grove End Road. Drivers should note that the street can be fairly busy and parking spaces are limited.
The crossing was granted Grade II listed status by English Heritage in December 2010. Westminster City Council believes it may have been moved several metres north in the 1970s, since the steps of Neville Court appear to the right of the crossing in early photographs. In 2019 Thames Water installed a commemorative manhole cover at the site for the album's 50th anniversary.
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