Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria. The design of the arch was developed between 1905 and 1907 by the English architect Aston Webb, known at the time for such buildings as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. The construction was carried out by the renowned engineering and construction company Mowlem from 1908 to 1913, and the arch was officially opened in 1912, after the king's death in 1910.

Initially, Admiralty Arch was intended to house government and naval offices. In 2011, as part of an austerity program, it was decided to put the building up for auction, with a price tag of 75 million pounds. In October 2012, the auction was won by Spanish developer Stefano Serrano Quevedo, who received the building on a 125-year lease. In August 2013, Westminster City Council allowed the arch's premises to be converted into a luxury hotel with 100 rooms, apartments, and a private club.

The arch is constructed from limestone, which is used in many of London's famous landmarks (Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral). The central part features three arches, each with a keystone decorated on the façade side with the royal coat of arms. The central arch, usually closed by a gate, is only opened for triumphal processions (coronations, royal weddings, or funerals). The two adjacent arches are used for vehicular traffic. On each side of these, there is a pedestrian archway. The arches are separated by six columns with capitals that resemble both the Corinthian and Ionic orders. The entire central façade is plastered with rustication. The top of the façade, facing both The Mall and Trafalgar Square, is crowned with a Latin inscription: ("In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from grateful citizens, 1910").

Female figures representing the Arts of Navigation and Gunnery, located at the ends of the left and right semicircles of the arch on the Mall side, were created by English sculptor Thomas Brock. Heraldic figures positioned at the top of the façade above the sculptures of Navigation and Gunnery symbolize the Royal Navy.

On the inner wall of the northernmost arch, there is a small protrusion shaped and sized like a human nose. It was placed there by artist Rick Buckley in 1997 as part of a campaign against the "Big Brother" society. The nose is about seven feet high and is at waist level for anyone passing through the arch on horseback.