Pantheon

The Pantheon on Oxford Street by James Wyatt opened in 1772 and was the site of a popular entertainment venue where people came to ‘see and be seen’ parading the latest fashions and indulging in masquerades. This building burnt down in 1792, was later restructured and in 1833-4 was rebuilt to the plans of Sydney Smirke as a bazaar. Smirke’s building provided two levels for people to explore and various counters at ground level, with lots of natural light coming through the glass roof. 

The architecture of the Pantheon was lavishly praised by many of those who saw it. Horace Walpole compared Wyatt's work favorably with that of better established and very fashionable Robert Adam, "the Pantheon is still the most beautiful edifice in England" he said. Dr. Burney, writing long after the destruction of the original building by fire (an event which inflicted on him a heavy financial loss), when the first wave of enthusiasm had long been dissipated, stated that the Pantheon "was built by Mr. James Wyatt, and regarded both by natives and foreigners, as the most elegant structure in Europe, if not on the globe… . No person of taste in architecture or music, who remembers the Pantheon, its exhibitions, its numerous, splendid, and elegant assemblies, can hear it mentioned without a sigh!"