Bush House is a building between
AldwychAldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
and
The StrandThe Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length has been longer than this...
in London at the southern end of
KingswayKingsway is a major road in central London in the United Kingdom, designated as part of the A4200. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House. It forms the eastern boundary of Covent Garden...
. The
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
's World Service department occupies four of the five wings, though the BBC staff will soon be moving. The fifth, south-west wing, is used by HM Revenue & Customs.
Sections of the building were completed and opened over a period of 13 years:
- 1923 - Centre Block
- 1928 - North-West wing
- 1929 - North-East wing
- 1930 - South-East wing
- 1935 - South-West wing
This quintessentially British building was commissioned, designed and originally owned by American individuals and companies.
Irving T. BushIrving T. Bush was an American businessman. His father was the wealthy industrialist, oil refinery owner, and yachtsman Rufus T. Bush. As founder of the Bush Terminal Company, Irving T...
gained approval for his plans for the building in 1919, which was planned as a major new trade centre and designed by American architect
Harvey Wiley Corbett Harvey Wiley Corbett was an American architect primarily known for skyscraper and office building designs in New York and London, and his advocacy of tall buildings and modernism in architecture.-Early Life and Career:...
. The construction was undertaken by
John Mowlem & CoMowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:...
.
The building's opening ceremony was performed by
Lord BalfourArthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
on 4 July 1925 - America's Independence Day. It included the unveiling of two statues at the entrance made by American artist
Malvina HoffmanMalvina Hoffman , was an American sculptor and author, well known for her life-size bronze sculptures of people. She also worked in plaster and marble....
. The statues symbolise Anglo-American friendship and the building bears the inscription ‘Dedicated to the friendship of English-speaking peoples’. Built from
Portland stonePortland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
, Bush House was in 1929 declared the "most expensive building in the world", having cost around £2,000,000 ($10,000,000).
After a landmine damaged
Broadcasting HouseBroadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London, England.Architect George Val Myer designed the building in collaboration with the BBC's civil engineer, M T Tudsbery. The interiors are the work of the Australian-Irish architect...
on 8 December 1940, the BBC's European Service moved into the south-east wing of the building; the rest of the Overseas Service followed in 1958.
The BBC's lease with Kato Kagaku (the Japanese company that owns the building) expires in 2010. The BBC plans to move World Service to
Broadcasting HouseBroadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London, England.Architect George Val Myer designed the building in collaboration with the BBC's civil engineer, M T Tudsbery. The interiors are the work of the Australian-Irish architect...
following its ongoing expansion and renovation programme, known as the W1 Project. There have been renewed rumours that neighbouring
London School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science, commonly referred to as the London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist constituent college of the University of London in London, England....
may purchase Bush House to expand its campus.
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