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of Bush House]] Bush House is a building between Aldwych and The Strand in London at the southern end of Kingsway . The BBC 's World Service department occupies four of the five wings, though the BBC staff will soon be moving. The fifth, south-west wing, is used by HM Revenue & Customs . Sections of the building were completed and opened over a period of 13 years:
This quintessentially British building was commissioned, designed and originally owned by American individuals and companies. Irving T Bush gained approval for his plans for the building in 1919 , which was planned as a major new trade centre and designed by American architect Harvey Wiley Corbett . The construction was undertaken by John Mowlem & Co . The building's opening ceremony was performed by Lord Balfour on July 4 , 1925 - America's Independence Day . It included the unveiling of two statues at the entrance made by American artist Malvina Hoffman . The statues symbolise Anglo-American friendship and the building bears the inscription ‘Dedicated to the friendship of English-speaking peoples’. Built from Portland Stone , Bush House was in 1929 declared the "most expensive building in the world", having cost around £2,000,000 ($10,000,000). After a landmine damaged Broadcasting House on December 8 1940 , the BBC's European Service moved into the south-east wing of the building; the rest of the Overseas Service followed in 1958 . The BBC's lease with Kato Kagaku (the Japan ese company that owns the building) expires in 2010 . The BBC plans to move World Service to Broadcasting House following its ongoing expansion and renovation programme, known as the W1 Project. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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