54 Broadway

54 Broadway sometimes known as Broadway Buildings is an office building in Broadway, London.

History

The building, which has a prominent mansard roof, was completed around 1924, when it became the main operating base for the Secret Intelligence Service. During the Second World War it had a brass plaque identifying it as the offices of the "Minimax Fire Extinguisher Company". Sir Stewart Menzies, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, had access to a tunnel, which connected 54 Broadway to his private residence in Queen Anne's Gate. Kim Philby, who worked in the building during the war, described it as

a dingy building, a warren of wooden partitions and frosted glass windows...served by an ancient lift.

The Secret Intelligence Service moved out to Century House in 1964. During the 1990s, the building was used by the project team for the Jubilee Line Extension to the London Underground.

Explanatory notes

Citations

General sources

• Berkeley, Roy (1994). A Spy's London. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN 9781473827202. OCLC 973676356.