Near upmarket Kensington, Earls Court combines leafy Victorian residential squares, chain hotels, hostels, and busy commercial streets. Office workers and international travellers mingle in the fast-food joints and old-school pubs lining Earls Court Road. Cultural offerings include intimate pop and rock performances at the iconic Troubadour coffee house and contemporary plays and musicals at the Finborough Theatre. Originally fertile farmland, Earl’s Court’s development took place in the mid to late 1800s after the arrival of the railway line (the station was built in 1869). The area officially became part of London in 1889 when the London County Council was formed and the city’s boundaries extended. The area became famous for the Earls Court Exhibition Grounds – established by John Robinson Whitley in 1887 – which featured rides and an arena which hosted Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A giant wheel was added 10 years later.