# Daily Express Building, London

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Building in London, United Kingdom

Black [vitrolite](/source/Vitrolite) panelling on the Daily Express Building

The **Daily Express Building** (120 Fleet Street) is a [Grade II* listed building](/source/Listed_building) located in [Fleet Street](/source/Fleet_Street) in the [City of London](/source/City_of_London). It was designed in 1932 by Ellis and Clark to serve as the home of the *[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)* newspaper and is one of the most prominent examples of [art-deco](/source/Art-deco) / [Streamline Moderne](/source/Streamline_Moderne) architecture in [London](/source/London).

The exterior features a black [façade](/source/Fa%C3%A7ade) with rounded corners in [vitrolite](/source/Vitrolite) and clear glass, with [chromium](/source/Chromium) strips. The flamboyant [lobby](/source/Lobby_(room)), designed by [Robert Atkinson](/source/Robert_Atkinson_(architect)), includes plaster reliefs by [Eric Aumonier](/source/Eric_Aumonier), silver and gilt decorations, a magnificent silvered pendant lamp and an oval staircase. The furniture inside the building was, for the most part, designed by [Betty Joel](/source/Betty_Joel).[1]

The Grade II* listing relates not only to the architectural features but also to the massive reinforced concrete stacked portal frame structure designed by Sir [Owen Williams](/source/Owen_Williams_(engineer)).

As part of a redevelopment of the surrounding site the building was entirely refurbished in 2000 by [John Robertson Architects](/source/John_Robertson_Architects). The foyer was recreated largely from photographs and the façade completely upgraded.[2] The concrete portal frame structure was preserved.

The lobby of this building was open to the public on [London Open House](/source/London_Open_House) day, over the weekend of 19 and 20 September 2009. Members of the public were allowed to view the lobby, which is normally only accessible to employees of the building and invited guests.[3]

"Britain" panel from the Daily Express building foyer "Empire" panel from the Daily Express building foyer The aluminium leaf recessed ceiling and pendant lamp

The building is currently occupied by [Goldman Sachs](/source/Goldman_Sachs).

## Sister Express buildings in Manchester and Glasgow

The company also constructed two sister buildings of similar design during this period. The [Express Building, Manchester](/source/Daily_Express_Building%2C_Manchester) (1939) was critically acclaimed as the best of the three due to its superior exterior design and better site and was the only one of the three to be architecturally designed by Sir [Owen Williams](/source/Owen_Williams_(engineer)).[4] The 1936 building in [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow) housed the offices of the *[Glasgow Herald](/source/Glasgow_Herald)* and *[Evening Times](/source/Evening_Times)* newspapers from 1980 to circa 2000, but has now been converted into flats.[5]

## In the media

The building, the paper and its best remembered editor, [Arthur Christiansen](/source/Arthur_Christiansen) (who in reality had already relinquished the role), featured in the British science fiction film *[The Day the Earth Caught Fire](/source/The_Day_the_Earth_Caught_Fire)* (1961), in which actors [Edward Judd](/source/Edward_Judd) and [Leo McKern](/source/Leo_McKern) have leading roles. The satirical magazine *[Private Eye](/source/Private_Eye)* invariably referred to the building, in the days when it was occupied by the *Daily Express*, as 'The Black [Lubyanka](/source/Lubyanka_Building)'.

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Daily Express Building, London](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Daily_Express_Building,_London).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Betty Joel"](http://www.answers.com/topic/betty-joel). *Answers.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gagg2011_2-0)** Gagg, Russell (1 October 2011). [*Basics Interior Architecture 05: Texture + Materials*](https://books.google.com/books?id=LW1MAQAAQBAJ). A&C Black. p. 42. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2-940411-53-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2-940411-53-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["A Typical Saturday out in London"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115124754/http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2009/09/a-typical-saturday-out-in-london/). *The London Insider*. 20 September 2009. Archived from [the original](http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2009/09/a-typical-saturday-out-in-london/) on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The Best Architecture in Manchester"](http://www.prideofmanchester.com/architecture/best.htm). *prideofmanchester.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Glasgow, 159-195 Albion Street, Daily Express Building"](http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/140994/details/glasgow+159+195+albion+street+daily+express+building/). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2015.

[51°30′52″N 0°06′22″W / 51.5144°N 0.1060°W / 51.5144; -0.1060](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Daily_Express_Building,_London&params=51.5144_N_0.106_W_type:landmark_region:GB-LND)

v t e Express newspapers Daily Express editors 1900: Arthur Pearson 1901: Fletcher Robinson 1909: R. D. Blumenfeld 1929: Beverley Baxter 1933: Arthur Christiansen 1957: Edward Pickering 1961: Bob Edwards 1962: Roger Wood 1963: Bob Edwards 1965: Derek Marks 1971: Ian McColl 1974: Alastair Burnet 1976: Roy Wright 1977: Derek Jameson 1980: Arthur Firth 1981: Christopher Ward 1983: Larry Lamb 1986: Nicholas Lloyd 1995: Richard Addis 1998: Rosie Boycott 2001: Chris Williams 2003: Peter Hill 2011: Hugh Whittow 2018: Gary Jones Sunday Express editors 1920: James Douglas 1928: James Douglas and John Gordon 1931: John Gordon 1952: Harold Keeble 1954: John Junor 1986: Robin Esser 1989: Robin Morgan 1991: Eve Pollard 1994: Brian Hitchen 1995: Sue Douglas 1996: Richard Addis 1998: Amanda Platell 1999: Michael Pilgrim 2001: Martin Townsend 2018: Michael Booker Other topics Daily Express Building, London Daily Express Building, Manchester James Bond comic strip Northern & Shell Richard Desmond Rupert Bear Sunday Express Dunblane controversy The Sunday Express Book of the Year

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daily Express Building, London](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Express_Building%2C_London) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Express_Building%2C_London?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.