Have you ever noticed the nose? If you look at the inside wall of the northernmost arch of Admiralty Arch, you will find a small protrusion shaped exactly like a human nose. It is not a structural mistake or some strange bit of debris. It was placed there in 1997 by artist Rick Buckley as part of a campaign against a "Big Brother" society.
It sits about seven feet high - roughly waist-height for anyone riding through the arch on a horse. It serves as a piece of anti-surveillance art within the historic structure.
Admiralty Arch itself is a masterpiece of asymmetry. Designed by Aston Webb and completed in 1912, it combines a triumphal arch with government offices. If you look from the Mall, the right wing has three floors below the cornice while the left wing only has two. It served as the home of the First Sea Lord - including Louis Mountbatten - before the government sold it on a 125-year lease in 2012.
Today, the building is being transformed into a luxury hotel under the Waldorf Astoria brand, scheduled to open in 2026. While the building's history is full of official secrets - like the tunnels that reputedly connect it to 10 Downing Street - the nose remains a quiet, odd little secret for those who look closely enough.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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