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

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