55 Broadway is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

close to

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...

in London. Upon completion, it was the tallest office block in the city. In 1931 the building earned architect Charles Holden the

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

London Architecture Medal. In 2020, it was announced that it will be converted to a luxury hotel.

History

It was designed by

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and built between 1927 and as a new headquarters for the

Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...

(UERL), the main forerunner of

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. London Transport occupied the building 1933-1984, followed by its successors

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

from 1984–2000, and Transport for London 2000–2020. Transport for London vacated the building in 2020.

Description

Faced with

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

and covering a site with an irregular footprint, the upper office floors of the building are on a cruciform plan, stepping back towards the central clock tower at the top. The cruciform design afforded the optimum level of natural light to the offices. The ground floor now contains a shopping arcade and has many

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

details. Previously, the ground floor was also given over to London Transport offices, including a travel information centre, cash office and a library. The whole building straddles

St James's Park tube station St James's Park is a London Underground station near St James's Park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is served by the District and Circle lines and is between Victoria and Westminster stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. Th ...

, the east and west wings being immediately above the railway tunnel. When finished, it was the tallest steel-framed office building in London, until construction of another Holden building, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

's Senate House (based on similar designs and materials). On each elevation, the pediment above the sixth floor is decorated with a relief, collectively known as ' the four winds', although the four points of the compass are repeated twice for a total of eight reliefs. Each relief was carved by an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

sculptor of the day. Halfway along the north and east facades are a matched pair of sculptures, ''Day'' and ''Night'' by

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produce ...

. The modernism and graphic nakedness of these sculptures created public outrage on their unveiling. Newspapers started a campaign to have the statues removed and one company director,

Lord Colwyn Baron Colwyn, of Colwyn Bay in the County of Denbigh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the businessman Sir Frederick Smith, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet in 1912. the titles are ...

, offered to pay the cost.

Frank Pick Frank Pick Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway, before moving to the Underground Electric Railways Compan ...

, the managing director of the UERL at the time, took overall responsibility and offered his resignation over the scandal. In the end, Epstein agreed to remove 1.5 inches from the penis of the smaller figure on ''Day'' and ultimately the furore died down. The function suite on the 10th floor of the building was formerly set up as a dining room for the Chairman and senior executives. At this level, there are also four roof gardens, one of which was dedicated to the wife of a former managing director in recognition of her enthusiasm in encouraging this early form of environmental work. The building, first listed as Grade II in 1970, was upgraded to Grade I in 2011. In 2013, it was announced that 55 Broadway would be converted into luxury apartments, once London Underground moved operations from the building in 2015 to their new headquarters in the

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

Stratford, London Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Char ...

. In May 2014, it was announced that the architects, TateHindle, would lead the redevelopment and, in June 2015, planning permission and listed building consent was granted: however, this was not implemented and the planning permission expired in June 2018. In September 2019, a long-term lease of the property was sold by Transport for London for £120 million to Integrity International Group, founded by Tony Matharu. In May 2020, it was announced that Blue Orchid Hotels, a subsidiary of Integrity International, would convert the structure into a luxury hotel.

Commissioned art work

*''Day'' and ''Night'',

*''North Wind'',

Alfred Gerrard Alfred Horace "Gerry" Gerrard RBS (7 May 1899 – 13 June 1998) was an English modernist sculptor. He was head of the sculpture department at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1925 and professor of sculpture there from 1949 to 1968, where he ...

*''North Wind'',

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...

*''East Wind'', Eric Gill *''East Wind'',

Allan G. Wyon Allan Gairdner Wyon FRBS RMS (1882 – 26 February 1962) was a British die-engraver and sculptor and, in later life, vicar in Newlyn, Cornwall. Many of his works are memorials with a number located in British cathedrals. Other, more decorative, ...

*''South Wind'', Eric Gill *''South Wind'',

Eric Aumonier Aubrey Eric Stacy Aumonier (5 May 1899 – 1974), was a British sculptor. Life Aumonier was born in Northwood, Middlesex (now northwest London); his family name is Huguenot (French Protestant). Eric's grandfather, William, founded the Aumonie ...

*''West Wind'', Samuel Rabinovitch *''West Wind'',

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

File:St James's Park Station sculptures – South Wind by Eric Gill.jpg, ''South Wind'' by Eric Gill File:St James's Park Station sculptures – North Wind by Eric Gill.jpg, ''North Wind'' by Eric Gill File:St James's Park Station sculptures – West Wind by Samuel Rabinovitch.jpg, ''West Wind'' by Samuel Rabinovitch File:St James's Park Station sculptures – East Wind by Allan G. Wyon.jpg, ''East Wind'' by Allan G. Wyon

References

Bibliography

*''Modern Architectural Sculpture'', Ed. William Aumonier, The Architectural Press, London 1930 *

External links

Transport for London - 55 Broadway

London Transport Museum Photographic ArchiveIntegrity International Group
** Building *** *** *** *** ** Sculptures *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***{{ltmcollection, 20/u5520.jpg, Jacob Epstein with ''Night'' during its carving, 1929
Underground Journeys: The Heart of London
Illustrated history of 55 Broadway, from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed office buildings London Underground Transport architecture in London Art Deco architecture in London Charles Holden buildings Office buildings completed in 1929 Commercial buildings completed in 1929 Transport in London