From humble beginnings, Soho developed into a fashionable center for
London's nobility in the 18th century. Yet this same area was to become
a poverty-stricken and decaying Victorian hub of cheap lodging houses.
This was the Soho of the devastating cholera outbreak of 1854. However,
a new focus on business and manufacturing transformed Soho in the late
19th and 20th centuries. Alongside this, bars and restaurants
flourished, encouraging artists and artisans to the area. In the 1960s,
Carnaby Street briefly became the fashion and retail center of the
world. The nightclubs of Soho played host to the Teddies, Mods, Rockers,
Punks and New Romantics of post-war British youth culture.