Quarter gave an altogether new turn to the rhetoric of an east London trade that local Member of Parliament (MP) George Lansbury once dismissed as 'room farming'. As the sales line of the developers went: 'Parisians have the Latin Quarter, New Yorkers have Greenwich Village. Now in East London, a stone's throw from the City, there's a new Quarter..." However, unlike the former two, the latter would be "generated by a single speculative stroke". Today Bow Quarter consists of 733 one- and two-bedroom flats and penthouses, together with a handful of workers' cottages built around the late 19th century. Set in of landscaped grounds, amenities include a residents' gym and a convenience store. The majority of the flats today are located in former factory and office buildings. Arlington, for example, was built as offices in 1874; Lexington and Manhattan date from the factory site redevelopment in 1911. The Victorian cottages near the entrance provided accommodation for the company directors whilst Staten was built as extra office accommodation in the late 1950s. The Park buildings (East, Central and West) were added in the mid-1990s. In 2004, the TV series If... shot scenes in the fictional gated community Regent's Court inside Bow Quarter. Some residents were interviewed by the production team during the making of the programme. Current residents include James Lance, Katy B, Lars Chittka and Sunday Girl. Previous residents have included John Barrowman and Steve Strange. Former resident Danny Wallace declared his flat a micronation in the TV series How to Start Your Own Country. AudiopleXus mastering studio is located in the Bow Quarter. In April 2012, the Ministry of Defence identified the water tower as a potential location for surface-to-air missile defences during the 2012 Summer Olympics. One resident, a Guardian journalist, reported opposition to the scheme, but other residents were supportive of the move. References Notes Bibliography Beaver, Patrick (1985). The Match Makers. London: Henry Melland. . Emsley, John (2000). The Shocking History of Phosphorus: A biography of the Devil's element. London: Macmillan. . Wright, Patrick (1991/2009). A Journey Through Ruins - The Last Days of London. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . External links Official website Residents' Association Matchworker's strike Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Residential buildings in London Gated communities in the United Kingdom 2012 Summer Olympics Bow, London