Shirayama Shokusan
County Hall, London was owned by whom in Sep 1990?
County Hall , London County Hall ( sometimes called London County Hall ) is a building in London that was the headquarters of London County Council ( LCC ) and later the Greater London Council ( GLC ) . The building is on the South Bank of the River Thames , with Westminster Bridge being next to it , to the south . It faces west toward the City of Westminster and is close to the Palace of Westminster . The nearest London Underground stations are and . It is a Grade II* listed building . History . The current building was commissioned to replace the mid 19th-century Spring Gardens headquarters inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works . The site selected by civic leaders was previously occupied by four properties : Float Mead ( occupied by Simmonds flour mills ) , Pedlars Acre ( occupied by wharves and houses ) , Bishops Acre ( occupied by Crosse & Blackwells factory ) and the Four Acres ( occupied by workshops and stables ) . The main six storey building was designed by Ralph Knott . It is faced in Portland stone in an Edwardian Baroque style . The construction , which was undertaken by Holland , Hannen & Cubitts , started in 1911 and the building was opened by King George V in 1922 . The North and South blocks , which were built by Higgs and Hill , were added between 1936 and 1939 . The Island block was not completed until 1974 . For 64 years County Hall served as the headquarters of local government for London . During the 1980s the then powerful Labour-controlled GLC led by Ken Livingstone was locked in conflict with the Conservative national government of Margaret Thatcher . The façade of County Hall frequently served as a billboard for opposition slogans which could be seen from the Palace of Westminster . When the government of Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986 , County Hall lost its role as the seat of Londons government . Talk soon became of what was to happen to the building , and there were plans to relocate the London School of Economics to the site which did not proceed . The building remained in use by the Inner London Education Authority ( ILEA ) until its abolition in 1990 when the building was transferred to the London Residuary Body and eventually sold to Shirayama Shokusan , a Japanese investor . On 21 October 2005 , the High Court of England and Wales upheld a bid by the owners of the building , Shirayama Shokusan , to have the Saatchi Gallery evicted on grounds of violating its contract , particularly using space outside of the rented area for exhibits . The Island block , an annex of the main building , was demolished in 2006 to make way for a hotel , the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge . The building , also known as No 1 Westminster Bridge Road , had been disused since 1986 and had become a derelict eyesore . A blue plaque commemorates the LCC , GLC and the Inner London Education Authority at County Hall . Attractions . County Hall is the site of businesses and attractions , including the Sea Life London Aquarium , Shreks Adventure London and the Namco Funscape amusement arcade . Hotel . They are two hotels located in the county hall : - budget Premier Inn , Premier Inn London County Hall hotel - 5 star Marriott hotel , London Marriott Hotel County Hall External links . - londoncountyhall.com - Survey of London entry - Blitzandblight ( archive )