Millbank Tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Millbank Tower is a 118 metres (387 feet) high skyscraper in Central London at 21-24 Millbank. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners. It is a visible landmark in the London skyline, sitting beside the River Thames, half a mile upstream from the Palace of Westminster. The tower is owned by Tishman Speyer Properties.
The most famous resident in Millbank Tower's history was the Labour Party, although contrary to popular perception the Party never occupied any space in the tower itself. From 1995 the party rented two floors of the base at the south of the site for use as a general election campaign centre, including the ground floor which had a lecture theatre and meeting space which was used for press conferences. The party ran its 1997 General Election campaign from there; after the election, the party vacated its headquarters at John Smith House, Walworth Road SE17 to move to Millbank. This use led to the term 'Millbank' becoming an allusion to strict political control and a concentration on spin. However, the £1 million per annum rent forced the party to vacate the tower in 2002 for 16 Old Queen Street.
The United Nations also had offices in Millbank Tower, vacating in June 2003, also citing high rents. Another occupier was the Central Statistical Office (predecessor of the Office for National Statistics).
The 2003 edition of the Pevsner architectural guide says that Millbank Tower is "one of the few London office towers to have won affection", and contrasts it with the "boxy structure" of the Shell Tower at Waterloo .
