History
It was designed by Sir Aston Webb, constructed by John Mowlem & Co and completed in 1912. It adjoins the Old Admiralty Building, hence the name. The building was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother Queen Victoria, although he did not live to see its completion. A Latin inscription along the top reads:
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(In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from most grateful citizens, 1910)
The sculptural figures of Navigation and Gunnery were designed by the English sculptor Thomas Brock.
In 2000, the Cabinet Office moved into offices in the building, while maintaining its headquarters on Whitehall. It was also home to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and the Social Exclusion Task Force. In 2011, as part of the government's austerity programme, the building became vacant and was put up for sale for a reported £75 million. In October 2012, the winning bidder was reported to be Spanish real estate developer Rafael Serrano, who planned to turn the property into a luxury hotel. The property was sold as a 125-year lease.
Read more about this topic: Admiralty Arch
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“While the Republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In every election in American history both parties have their clichés. The party that has the clichés that ring true wins.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)
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I not only have my own history to worry about
But am forced to fret over insufficient details related to large
Unfinished concepts that can never bring themselves to the point
Of being, with or without my help, if any were forthcoming.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)