Saturday 10 January 2009

Grosvenor Hotel



A postcard view of the Grosvenor Hotel, designed by the same architects as Monserrate: J.T. Knowles, Father & Son. Picture from the mid 1950's - there is a Routemaster Double Decker in the right-hand corner, first introduced to London traffic in 1954.

Most conspicuous similarity with Monserrate from this view is the turret from which flies the Union Jack. Though four-square rather than round it is the ancestor of Monserrates central dome (not counting Filippo Brunelleschi). Knowles initially designed the hotel with a grandiose central dome, which was never built. Looks like they sold the idea to Francis Cook.

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