Trafalgar Buildings

Trafalgar Buildings is a Grade II listed office building that was formerly a grand hotel, constructed between 1881 and 1882 by architects F and H Francis. The building features stone construction and slate roofs, designed in a large "Second Empire" style with a palatial appearance. It stands five storeys tall with a dormered mansard roof, which includes two Trench square dome pavilion-roofs. The facade is nine bays wide, extending into a five-bay quadrant corner that faces Whitehall.

The ground floor has a central entrance with an archivolt arch and altered shop fronts, which are framed by polished granite pilasters supporting an entablature. The upper floors are adorned with architraved windows, including tripartite sash windows in the pavilions and the central range on the first and second floors, all featuring cornices. A distinctive bowed window is located in the center of the second floor. The second and third floors are highlighted by a giant pilaster order that supports the main entablature. The attic storey contains three architraved Diocletian windows aligned with the pavilion roofs and the corner, along with stone pedimented dormers that are connected by a balustrade. The full second attic storey has three windows, with the central one being pedimented, above which rise the square domes, each pierced by oeil-de-boeuf.

The building occupies a prominent corner site in relation to Trafalgar Square. Northumberland Avenue, which opened in 1876, became known for its grand hotels in the 1880s.