In the late 19th century the parishes of St Margaret and St John held their meetings at the old Westminster Town Hall in Caxton Street.[1] However, after the enlarged Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was formed in 1900,[2] civic leaders decided the Caxton Street building was inadequate for their needs, and decided to find larger facilities; they selected an existing building in Charing Cross Road,[3][4] which re-opened as "Westminster City Hall" on 29 May 1902.[4]
In the early 1960s, in anticipation of the impending further enlargement of the council's area, civic leaders again decided they needed larger facilities; the site they selected formed part of a larger development by Land Securities on a site previously occupied by Prince's Mansions in Victoria Street.[5][a] The proposed development was a 76.20 metres (250.0 ft) high,[8] 20-storey glass tower, designed by Burnet Tait & Partners in the modern style, which was built by Taylor Woodrow Construction.[9] The enlarged City of Westminster was formed in March 1965, shortly before the completion of the new town hall in April 1965.[10]
Initially, Westminster City Council only used the 20th floor, but gradually expanded to take the whole building.[3] The principal rooms were the Mayor's parlour on the 19th floor[11] and the committee rooms on the 18th floor, which were used for cabinet meetings as well as committee meetings.[12]
The building was stripped back to a concrete shell during an extensive refurbishment between 2017 and 2019.[13][14]
