Grosvenor Square

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The north side of Grosvenor Square in the 18th or early 19th century. The three houses on the left form an ensemble, while the others are individually designed. Most of the later London squares became more uniform.

Grosvenor Square (pronounced "Grove-ner Square") is a green space in the affluent Mayfair district of London . It is the center of the Dukes of Westminster's Mayfair estate and is named after their last name "Grosvenor".

history

Sir Richard Grosvenor received permission to develop Grosvenor Square and the adjacent streets in 1710, beginning in 1721. Grosvenor Square has always been one of the most sought-after residential addresses in London; Numerous leading members of the nobility lived there until the Second World War .

The early buildings generally had five or seven bays , basements, three stories and an attic. There were stables on all four sides of the square .

Many of the buildings were later rebuilt in the 18th or 19th centuries, generally adding an extra story. Number 26 was rebuilt from 1773 to 1774 by Robert Adam for Edward Stanley, the 11th Earl of Derby, and is considered one of the best works by this architect and an example of how great impact can be achieved in a limited space. It was demolished and rebuilt in the 1860s.

The park in the middle of the square, originally intended for local residents, was standard for a London square; today the public park is managed by The Royal Parks . Almost all of the buildings were demolished in the 20th century and replaced by neo-Georgian style houses, hotels and embassies.

American presence

Grosvenor Square has traditionally been the site of the official American mission in London since President John Adams established the first American mission to the British royal court in 1785. During World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower established a military headquarters at 20 Grosvenor Square, and during this time Grosvenor Square was jokingly called "Eisenhower Square". The United States Navy continues to use this building as its headquarters for Europe and West Africa .

The former American embassy in Grosvenor Square from 1938–1960 was bought by the Canadian government, renamed Macdonald House and was part of the Canadian diplomatic mission in London until 2014.

The new building for the American embassy is on the west side of Grosvenor Square, an architecturally significant design by Eero Saarinen , completed in 1960. The construction is still controversial, as this area of ​​London is otherwise determined by Georgian and neo-Georgian architecture. A number of counterterrorism elements have been installed around the embassy since 2001, and the road along the front of the embassy has been completely closed to traffic. Residents of the embassy believe this is insufficient and accuse the British government and police of exposing them to the risk of an attack. In 2006, residents of the Grosvenor Square Safety Group civic group ran ads in the Washington Post and The Times accusing the London Metropolitan Police and the county government of "moral failure" if the two streets next to the embassy were not also closed.

In January 2018, the United States Embassy in London moved to a new building. The previous building on Grosvenor Square was acquired by Qatari Diar , the real estate company of the Qatari royal family, who are planning a luxury hotel behind the listed facade.

literature

Web links

Commons : Grosvenor Square  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ Good riddance to Grosvenor Square - Canada House is our real home
  2. ↑ Trump does not want to inaugurate the new US embassy in London . In: Handelsblatt , January 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Qatar wins approval to turn US embassy in London into hotel

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 41 ″  N , 0 ° 9 ′ 5 ″  W.