When coming up with ideas on how some of the wondrous places J.K. Rowling described in her books should appear, designers for the Harry Potter movies looked to the Victorians. The wizard society in the Harry Potter books has a definite old feel about it. Since muggle, non magical, technology won't work around magic, most things in the Wizardry community has an old fashioned feel to it.
To show this, the set designers for the Harry Potter movies sought inspiration from the buildings of the Victorian times to create some of the places the witches and wizards frequented. One such place is the wizard shopping district of Diagon Alley. This is the place where everything a witch or wizard needs can be found. Designers of the set are quoted saying "The original design of the street combined the rich details from the Harry Potter books with inspiration from the streets described in the works of Charles Dickens."
To show this, the set designers for the Harry Potter movies sought inspiration from the buildings of the Victorian times to create some of the places the witches and wizards frequented. One such place is the wizard shopping district of Diagon Alley. This is the place where everything a witch or wizard needs can be found. Designers of the set are quoted saying "The original design of the street combined the rich details from the Harry Potter books with inspiration from the streets described in the works of Charles Dickens."
Another such place is the village of Hogsmeade. The village that the students from Hogwarts frequent on approved weekends also has a decidedly Victorian look about it. The shops and houses are packed together tightly on the crowded streets as people mill about, going from one place to the next.
What sets the scenes from Harry Potter apart from historic victorian architecture is the bright colors the designers used on their sets to make the places come to life more readily.
What sets the scenes from Harry Potter apart from historic victorian architecture is the bright colors the designers used on their sets to make the places come to life more readily.