Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and south but it is centred 125 metres east of Regent Street and double that NNE of Piccadilly Circus. A small block south is retail/leisure street Brewer Street. The square and its buildings have featured in many works of literature and host many media, advertising and public relations companies that characterise its neighbourhood within Soho. History Originally the site of a plague pit, this west London square was brought into being from the 1670s onwards. The square was possibly laid down by Sir Christopher Wren; the plan bears Wren's signature, but the patent does not state whether it was submitted by the petitioners or whether it originated in Wren's office. It very rapidly became the political and ambassadorial district of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, housing the Portuguese embassy among others. The town house of the first Viscount Bolingbroke, much favoured by Queen Anne graced the square. The statue of George II sculpted by John Nost in 1724 came from Cannons House in March 1753. William Pitt the Elder was born in the Square in 1708. Confusion surrounds whether the statue represents King George II of Great Britain, or King Charles II, as noted on the signage in Golden Square. Oral history recounts that the statue was accidentally won at auction, when the winning bidder raised his hand to greet a friend; the purchase price so low that he decided not to contest and gave the statue as a gift to the people of Golden Square. Listed buildings Of №s 33 to 39 consecutive forming the north (today three terraced buildings): internally merged №s 34 to 36 (all known as №36) is a listed building in the mainstream, starting category. Of №s 1 to 12 consecutive forming the east: № 11 is listed, at Grade II* Of №s 13 to 19 consecutive forming the south: № 19 is listed, at Grade II, the mainstream category Of №s 20 to 31 consecutive forming the west: №s 20, 21, 23, and 24 are listed, at Grade II. Numbering and traffic proceed clockwise. In film, fiction and the media The square is the setting of the third part of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle,