Smith Square is a square in the Westminster district of London, just south of the Palace of Westminster. The centre of the square is occupied by St John's, Smith Square, a Baroque church now used as a concert hall. Most of the square is now taken up by offices and the location means that they are mostly occupied by organisations associated with government, or that need to be near it for lobbying purposes. In the mid 20th century the square hosted the headquarters of both the main parties of British politics, and it is now home to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Local Government Association and the London base of the European Parliament and European Commission.
Famous quotes containing the words smith and/or square:
“For men tied fast to the absolute, bled of their differences, drained of their dreams by authoritarian leeches until nothing but pulp is left, become a massive, sick Thing whose sheer weight is used ruthlessly by ambitious men. Here is the real enemy of the people: our own selves dehumanized into “the masses.” And where is the David who can slay this giant?”
—Lillian Smith (1897–1966)
“This house was designed and constructed with the freedom of stroke of a forester’s axe, without other compass and square than Nature uses.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)