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| Bush House @www.ravishlondon.com Bush House, one of a number of classic London buildings carved out of stately Portland Stone, sits regally in Aldwych, where the Strand meets Kingsway. It was built in 1923 by an American trading organisation headed by Irving T. Bush. In its day it was the world’s most expensive building. Bush had originally envisaged his building as a site for international traders. An international economic downturn meant using the building for more conventional purposes. Inscribed above the doors of Bush House is the motto, ‘To the friendship of English speaking peoples’, symbolising the special relationship between England and the US. By the 1950s Bush House had became synonymous with one of its long-term tenants, the BBC. Between 1940 and 2008 it was home to the BBC World Service, an international bastion of liberal middle class apologists, operating a culturally relatavist policy of news reporting, underpinned by an unswerving support for neoliberal politics and global capital. The BBC’s long-term plans are to vacate Bush House. Past owners of Bush House have invluded the Church of Wales (what they needed the building for is anybodys guess), the Post Office Superannuation Fund and now a Japanese corporation called Kata Kagaku. During the construction of Bush House Alfred Horton a stone mason fell from the building and died. Many years later his great grandson would drive past the building on his way to work not knowing the significance of Bush House to his family’s life. |
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