St James's Park station gets Grade I listing
1920s tube station and London鈥檚 first skyscraper given highest listed status.
St James鈥檚 Park Underground station and the office block that towers above it it have been given Grade I listed status.
Following a review of stations by , the site at 55 Broadway, which was London鈥檚 tallest office building when it opened in 1929 and is now the Headquarters, has been upgraded from Grade II to Grade I.
The change means the site is now among the top 2.5 per cent of listed buildings in England and is on a par with structures such as , and the .
Heritage Minister said he 鈥渨holeheartedly agreed鈥� with English Heritage鈥檚 decision. 鈥淲hen this building opened it would have represented the height of sophistication and a move towards the development of modernism,鈥� Mr Penrose said. 鈥淚 wonder just how many of the thousands of commuters that pass through the station every day are aware of the fantastic features all around them. From 1920 platform finishes to platform benches and the original timber kiosk it remains one of the most unaltered Underground stations on the network.鈥�
The building, designed by architect Charles Holden, is also home to a number of pre-Second World War sculptures by artists such as Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein.
Hannah Parham, Heritage Protection Advisor for English Heritage said: 鈥淭he next time Londoners use St James鈥檚 Park station, I would encourage them to stop and pause. St James鈥檚 Park station and the London Underground Headquarters at 55 Broadway are truly jewels in London鈥檚 architectural and historic crown.聽 Combined, the buildings provide unequivocal Grade l listed quality.聽 Perhaps Charles Holden鈥檚 finest undertaking - it is complex yet subtle, avoids bulk, offers cutting-edge and provoking sculpture, and captures the spirit of architectural innovation.鈥�