Phil,
Thanks very much for the photograph of Burlington Passage - that's another one I've never seen before ! Fresh air between departments is certainly right - I notice that your picture is dated 1959. I seem to recall in the mid-1960s that this part was closed in and the shopfronts were all modernised, so does anyone know when that part of Burlington Passage was covered over ?
In the picture you can see Hudsons on the right and part of the sign for the stamp collector shop, Margoschis, on the left. So this looks like the part of the passage running from Lower Temple Street towards the Midland Hotel.
Brian