Barbicanarea in the City of London containing residential towers
and Barbican Centre, a complex of theatres, halls, and cultural
facilities. The London Symphony Orchestra is resident in the
arts complex, which is was also the London home of the Royal
Shakespeare Company until 2002.  Initial, modest plans for the
Barbican Centre were drafted in the 1950s, but more extensive
designs were later produced, and the centre was eventually
opened in 1982. Its central complex, which is partly
underground, includes Barbican Hall (an auditorium with 2,026
seats), Barbican Theatre (with more than 1,160 seats), the Pit
Theatre (for smaller productions), an art gallery, a library, a
conservatory, cinemas, numerous exhibition halls, restaurants,
and lecture facilities. Adjacent to the arts complex are high-
rise flats (apartments) built to accommodate thousands of
residents (thus greatly augmenting the limited population of the
“Square Mile” of central London). Terraces, fountains, and an
artificial lake adorn the surrounding