Hotels near BBC World Service

The landmark Bush House buiding between Australia House and India House and on the curved traffic island of Aldwych has been home to the BBC World Service since 1940. American architect Harvey W Corbett was drafted in by the Bush Terminal Company of New York to design a trade centre and Bush House was opened between 1923 and 1935. As economic conditions changed in the 1920s so too did the design. When the North-West wing opened in 1928, followed by the North-East wing in 1929, the cost of the building - at $10,000,000 - made it 'the most expensive building in the world' at the time. As a reminder of the original plans for Bush House, a small arcade remains on the ground floor; the entrance is on The Strand, and the eight shops within it are open to the general public.NOTE: The BBC World Service Shop at Bush House has now closed and tours are not available except during Open House London Weekend in September.