(A) Leicester Town Hall built 1874-76 by Francis Hames. The fountain was built 1878 and unveiled the following year.

The Town Hall was built on the site of the former cattle market between 1874 and 1876. It was designed by local architect Francis Hames and was the first civic building in the country to be built in the Queen Anne Style. It is now Grade II listed. On completion, this building replaced the Guildhall as the city's Town Hall. Two years after it opened, the fountain was given to the city by Israel Hart, a wealthy industrialist (wholesale clothing manufacturer) who became a Mayor of Leicester. 

(B) The Former Midland Bank/HSBC Building, 31 Granby Street (1875)

The building opened as the Leicestershire Bank. It was designed in the French Gothic style by Joseph Goddard (who also designed the Clock Tower), with carvings by stonemason Samuel Barfield (who often worked with Goddard). Inside is an enormous banking hall with a lantern roof and two-storey stained glass windows (in Art-Nouveau style). The Leicestershire Banking Company first established in 1829, to finance Leicester’s growing industries. By 1870 the bank had expanded its business and required larger premises. The result is this building at 31 Granby Street - a good example of Leicester’s growing prosperity. Goddard's extravagant design was a deliberate contrast to the nearby rival bank - the National Provincial Bank (now NatWest building, on the corner of Granby and Horsefair Street). Banks vied with each other to erect buildings that reflected their importance! In December 2011, the building was aquired by the Hare Krishna faith and is currently under renovation. When completed, it will be a community hub, including a heritage room (commemorating Goddard's architecture), a meditation hall, cafe and restaurant, and venue for meetings and events.

(C) The Turkey Cafe (1901)

The Turkey Café was designed by Arthur Wakerley in 1901 (right at the end of the Victorian period). The design was based on Turkish architecture and the tiles on the building were produced by Royal Doulton. It is Grade II listed.

(D) Former Victoria Coffee House (1888)

Grade II listed and designed by Edward Burgess. The Victoria was the most impressive of all the Victorian coffee houses in Leicester. It was named in honour of Queen’s Victoria's Jubilee in 1887 and opened the following year. During the 1800s, drinking alcohol was seen as a common social problem. The 'Temperance Movement' developed, to counter this. When it gained momentum by the 1830s, it advocated total abstinence from alcohol. Consequently, purpose-built coffee houses were built for social gatherings, entertainment and refreshments to be provided in a teetotal environment. These buildings were often grand in appearance, in order to be seen as a credible alternative to public houses. The Leicester Coffee and Cocoa House Company formed in 1877. It promoted the coffee house culture in Leicester, and built a series of coffee houses which provided a comfortable social environment. The Victoria was one of these.

(E) The Grand Hotel (1898).

The Grand Hotel was built in 1898, designed by Cecil Ogden (with a later corner addition by Amos Hall, influenced by the design of Sir Christopher Wren’s churches). The main design is described as 'Franco-German Renaissance' style. It was built as one of Leicester’s premier hotels and catered to the wealthy elite of English society. It also attracted visitors from Canada and America, and was said to be “the finest hotel not only in Leicester, but in the Midlands”. One of the most impressive rooms was the ballroom, or 'King’s Hall'. This later became a cinema for silent movies. There was a piano, organ and nine-piece orchestra providing music to accompany the film. It was initially called the King’s Hall Cinema, and later the Scala Cinema. The hall seated 700 but closed in 1928, possibly due to the cost of updating the equipment for the new sound films (‘talkies’) and competition from other cinemas.

(F) The former General Newsroom (1898)

Was designed in the Baroque style (with some classical elements) - a popular choice of architecture for large public buildings at the end of the 19th century. It was designed by Goddard & Co and is notable for its highly carved and decorated stonework.  Note the figures of the nine Muses between niches with shell decoration. Built toi replace an earlier classical building destroyed by the road widening.

(G) Former Tyler Bros shoe Warehouse (1875)

29 Rutland Street (on the Corner with Colton Street). Built in Italianate style, in buff coloured stone and brick with decorative stone work. The stone figures (in circular settings) are the goddess Minerva and the god Mercury and were carved by  Samuel Barfield (same guy who did the figures on the Clock Tower). Note that another source referred to this building as 'Dick's Shoe Factory, in Renaissance style'. 

(H) Former Guild for the Disabled Building (1909)

By A and TE Sawday. Features Arts & Crafts elements. This building is Grade II listed. It was the first in Britain to be designed for people with disabilities, including wheelchair access. It was for a time occupied by the charity Mosaic but then stood empty until 2000. It is now a place of worship for the Shri Shirdi Baba Temple Association.

(I) Queens Building (1897)

37-43 Rutland Street. (Grade II listed), on the corner of Queen Street and St George’s churchyard.

Former shoe warehouse, built with a Flemish theme. More recently a snooker room.

(J) Alexandra House (1897)

Edward Burgess. Grade II listed. This was the Faire Brothers’ Factory. (Some sources say it was a bootlace warehouse, others an elastic web factory. In any case, it was part of Leicester's footwear manufacturing industry). It has facades in ornate buff terracotta with a polished marble plinth and  plenty of decorative detail. Note the stone figure of Atlantes supporting the brackets on the main cornice (one of 10 such figures). It once had a cupola (dome) on the corner. The semi-circular (top) windows are an architectural feature common in this area.

(K) The Exchange Buildings, Rutland Street (1888)

By Stockdale and Harrison. Has a French pavilion roof.  Formerly home to Leicester Auctioneers & Estate Agents Association, the National Federation of Shopkeepers and the Midlands Area Coach and Transport Association.

(L) Formerly the National Provincial Bank, now NatWest (1870s)

(M) Thomas Cook Building (1894)

By Joseph Goddard. Built as a memorial to Thomas Cook (who died in 1892), the building provides a fine example of a Victorian facade. There are a set of four stone friezes depicting the following:

1841 Thomas Cook's first trip from Leicester to Loughborough
1851 A trip to the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace
1884 A trip to The Sudan
1891 A crossing of the Forth Bridge

(N) The Clock Tower (1868)

The Clock Tower by Joseph Goddard (first called 'The Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower') grade II listed, features four famous benefactors from Leicester’s history: Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester; William Wyggeston, founder of Wyggeston’s Hospital and benefactor of the Free Grammar School; Sir Thomas White, founder of a charity which offered interest-free loans to young men starting out in business; and Alderman Gabriel Newton who founded Alderman Newton’s School.  The style is Gothic. The Portland Stone figures were carved by sculptor, Samuel Barfield. The clock was supplied by Gillet and Bland of Croydon.

Before the Clock Tower, the town's first Assembly rooms and some shops stood in this area. They were demolished around 1862 to relieve traffic congestion. Traffic from six streets now poured into the vacant space and  it was decided to build the Clock Tower... it would become the first traffic island in the country. 

www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/storyofleicester/cityheritage/builtheritage/theclocktower/#sthash.vqNEK0S1.dpuf

(O) Former Eastgates Coffee House (1885)

Now a Cruise clothing store, this building is Grade II listed. It was another in the chain of coffee houses in Leicester, promoted by the Temperance Movement. Eastgates had a reputation for quality refreshments and was a popular meeting place for doctors, solicitors and other professionals.

(P) The High Street

During the early 1900s many of the buildings along the High Street were demolished to allow for road widening for the city’s new [electric] tram system and this provided an opportunity for redevelopment.  The buildings were constructed during a period of prosperity and were purpose-built as shops, often with large display windows at first floor level (perhaps for passengers to view from the top of the trams). The High Street provides a fine example of a commercial street from this period with buildings predominantly in Gothic and neo-classical style, and fashionable at the time. 

(R) Former Co-op Department store 53-71 High Street (now Rackhams) (1884). 

The longest unified architectural statement in the street. Built with Classical references in red brick.

(S) The Former Coronation Buildings, 76-78 High Street. (1902-04)

Designed and built by Arthur Wakerley for the Singer Sewing Machine Company (Grade II listed). It is described as a ‘rare and well preserved example of an Edwardian commercial property’. It is one of Leicester’s few ‘Art Nouveau’ style buildings and has also been referred to as a ‘jolly piece of commercial vulgarity'. 

(T) The former Pares Bank (later used by NatWest) at 2 St Martins (1900) 

This building was built for Pares Bank by local archtiects Everard and Pick, and features a mixture of Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. It has Classical references, with friezes and stone carvings. The two domed 'cupolas' on the roof are a distinctive feature. 

(U) The City Rooms, by John Johnson. Grade I listed. Building commenced 1792, completed 1800.

An example of Georgian architecture by local architect John Johnson. Roman style Doric columns support the porchway entrance. Statues in niches either side of the central window are terracotta figures of the comic and lyric Muses, designed by sculptor John Charles Felix Rossi. Inside the building, the ballroom is elaborately decorated in the style of the Regency period. It featured more figures by Rossi, along with paintings by Ramsay Richard Reinagle in circular panels on the walls and ceiling. the building opened in 1801 as Assembly Rooms to host balls and functions. Most recently (following a 2-year restoration project) the City Rooms has opened as a hotel, as was first intended!