The architecture of the second Elizabethan era: every London building the Queen opened
Elizabeth II (1926-2022). Open City pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II who over 70 years as UK head of state played a key role in the creation and restoration of London’s built environment and architectural heritage
Queen Elizabeth II opening the LCC’s 1967 Queen Elizabeth Hall, part of the Southbank Complex
During seven decades as monarch, Queen Elizabeth II opened more than 100 buildings in London ranging from schools to hospitals, and airports to banking headquarters and transport interchanges.
In recognition of Queen Elizabeth II’s services to London’s built environment and architectural heritage, Open City has compiled a list detailing 122 buildings opened in the capital between her coronation in 1952 and her death aged 96 in 2022.
The architecture of the ‘second Elizabethan era’ includes the 1969 Victoria Line, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon’s 1982 Barbican Centre, the 1997 Shakespeare's Globe on the Southbank, BBC Broadcasting House and Foster + Partners iconic 2000 Great Court at the British museum.
Spanning from Lloyds Lime Street (opened in 1952) to the Elizabeth Line (opened in 2022), the era is defined by a range of architectural expressions and, unlike Victorian architecture which is instantly recognisable, spans across Classical Revival, Brutalist, High-Tech and Post-Modern styles.
Some London landmarks — such as the Cutty Sark, Jubilee Gardens, Queen's Terminal Heathrow, the Lion enclosure at London Zoo and — have been through various redevelopments and were therefore opened multiple times by Queen Elizabeth II over the duration of her 70-year career.
Other buildings such as RSHP’s 2008 Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, the Hopkins'-designed 2001 Portcullis House, Herzog & de Meuron’s 2000 Tate Modern, Venturi Scott Brown’s 1991 Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery and the Powell Moya & Partners-designed 1986 QEII Centre represent some of the capital’s most memorable architecture.
Open City would like to thank all the volunteers who helped compile this list.
1950s and 1960s
Lloyds Lime Street (City) 1952
Queen's Terminal Heathrow (Hounslow) 1955
Cutty Sark installation (Greenwich) 1957
Croydon Technical College (Croydon) 1960
Flamsteed House Royal Observatory (Greenwich) 1960
Baden Powell House (K&C) 1961
Queen's Gallery Buckingham Palace (Westminster) 1962
Royal Russell School (Croydon) 1963
Royal College of Physicians (Camden) 1964
Imperial War Museum (Southwark) 1966
QE Hall Southbank (Lambeth) 1967
British Library (Camden) 1968
Euston Station (Camden) 1968
Imperial College Sherfield Building (Kensington and Chelsea) 1969
Terminal 1 Heathrow (Hounslow) 1969
Victoria Line 1969
1970s
London Business School (Camden) 1970
Northwick Park Hospital (Brent) 1970
National Army Museum (Kensington and Chelsea) 1971
Charing Cross Hospital (Hamersmith) 1973
Faraday Museum (Westminster) 1973
New London Bridge (City/Southwark) 1973
National Theatre (Lambeth) 1976
St Thomas's Hospital North Wing (Lambeth) 1976
Lion enclosure London Zoo (Camden) 1976
Piccadilly Line extension to Heathrow (Hillingdon) 1977
Jubilee Gardens (Lambeth) 1977
Museuem of Methodism (City) 1978
Royal Free Hospital (Camden) 1978
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Westminster) 1978
1980s
Hopetown House Salvation Army (Tower Hamlets) 1980
St George's Hospital (Wandsworth) 1980
Wood Green Shopping City (Haringey) 1981
Barbican (City) 1982
Newham General Hospital (Newham) 1983
Queen's Gardens (Croydon) 1983
Thames Barrier (Greenwich/Newham) 1984
Ealing Broadway Centre (Ealing) 1985
Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music (Kensington and Chelsea) 1986
Bromley Civic Centre (Bromley) 1986
Lloyds Building (City) 1986
QEll Centre (Westminster) 1986
DLR 1987
Queen Mary University new Library (Tower Hamlets) 1988
Imperial War Museum (again) (Southwark) 1989
Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre designed by Pentagram
1990s
ITN headquarters, Grays Inn Rd (Camden) 1991
Sainsbury Wing National Gallery (Westminster) 1991
Sydney Wing Royal Brompton hospital (Kensington and Chelsea) 1991
Charing Cross Police Station (Westminster) 1992
Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery, British Museum (Camden) 1992
Chelsea and Westminster hospital (Kensington and Chelsea) 1993
Prudential HQ Holborn Bars (Camden) 1993
Queen Elizabeth Gate Hyde Park (Westminster) 1993
Croydon Clocktower (Croydon) 1994
Shakespeare's Globe (Southwark) 1997
Albert Memorial (restoration) (Westminster) 1998
National Maritime Museum (reopening) (Greenwich) 1999
Opening Foster + Partners’ 2000 Great Court at the British Museum, Queen Elizabeth II said: ‘The Great Court will benefit the millions of people who come to the British Museum every year. We can be confident that it will become a landmark associated with the new millennium.’
2000s
Great Court British Museum (Camden) 2000
Lloyds Register Building (City) 2000
Millennium Bridge (City/Southwark) 2000
Ondaatje Wing National Portrait Gallery (Westminster) 2000
Tate Modern (Southwark) 2000
Portcullis House (Westminster) 2001
QE Hospital (Greenwich) 2001
Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital (Greenwich) 2001
St Luke's Hospice (Harrow) 2001
City Hall (Southwark) 2002
Haberdashers Hall (City) 2002
Booth House (Salvation Army) (Tower Hamlets) 2003
Royal Ballet School (Westminster) 2003
Sir John Cass business school (City) 2003
Royal Russell School (again 6th form) (Croydon) 2003
Imperial War Museum (again, again) (Southwark )2003
Imperial College business school (Kensington and Chelsea) 2004
Lambeth Academy (Lambeth) 2004
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (Westminster) 2004
Stock Exchange Building Paternoster Square (City) 2004
Crook Log Leisure Centre (Bexley) 2005
University College Hospital (Camden) 2005
Moorfields Hospital Children's Eye Centre (Islington) 2007
St Pancras International station (Camden) 2007
London Fire Brigade HQ (Union St) (Southwark) 2008
New Academic Building LSE (Westminster) 2008
Royal Institution (re-opening) (Westminster) 2008
Terminal 5 Heathrow (Hounslow) 2008
British Legion HQ (Haig House) (Southwark) 2009
Supreme Court (Westminster) 2009
2010s and 2020s
London Clinic, Duchess of Devonshire Cancer Centre (Westminster) 2010
Old Manor House Garden, Capel Manor College (Enfield) 2010
15 Canada Square (KPMG HQ) (Tower Hamlets) 2011
Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) (City) 2011
Somerset House East Wing (KCL) (Westminster) 2012
The Drapers' Academy (Havering) 2012
Westminster School Sports Centre (Westminster) 2012
Cutty Sark (again, restoration)(Greenwich) 2012
Jubilee Gardens (again) (Lambeth) 2012
Barnardo's HQ building (Redbridge) 2013
Diamond Jubilee Steps Royal Albert Hall (Westminster) 2013
new BBC Broadcasting House (Westminster) 2013
Royal London Hospital new building (Tower Hamlets) 2013
Queen's Terminal Heathrow (again, rebuilt) (Hounslow) 2014
Science Museum Information Age Gallery (Kensington and Chelsea) 2014
Canada House refurbishment (Westminster) 2015
Mary Tealby Intake Centre and kennels, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (Wandsworth) 2015
Ministry of Defence (Westminster) 2015
Sydney Russell School redevelopment (B&D) 2015
Francis Crick Institute (Camden) 2016
Lion enclosure London Zoo (again) (Camden) 2016
New Met Police HQ (Westminster) 2017
National Army Museum (again, redevelopment) (Kensington and Chelsea) 2017
Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery, British Museum (again) (Camden) 2017
QEll Centre – Corams (Camden) 2018
Ashworth Centre Lincoln’s Inn (Camden) 2018
Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey (Westminster) 2018
Royal Academy new Burlington House building (Westminster) 2018
Schroders HQ (City) 2018
Bush House Kings College (Westminster) 2019
QE Terrace (Merton) 2019
Royal Philatelic Society (City) 2019
Supporters Centre Science Museum (Kensington and Chelsea) 2019
Science Museum Smith Centre (Kensington and Chelsea) 2019
Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals (Camden) 2020
Elizabeth Line 2022
