American Embassy On The Move

Perhaps hoping that it'll take anti-war protesters (not to mention miscreat millionaires) a while to track them down, US Ambassador Robert Tuttle has announced the American Embassy will depart its Grosvenor Square office for pastures new. Not to Kensington Palace, as was the plan five years ago (a move the Royal Family reportedly nixed), nor to any of the suggestions that we made last year, nor even to the old Post Office that Google Maps proposed. They are in fact off to the less regal environs of Nine Elms, in Wandsworth.

Citing security and environmental concerns, the Ambassador said that it was also important for he and his staff to be located closer to the centre of government and parliament. The move will be a decision welcomed in the wealthy homes around Mayfair, who have long despaired about the security measures, particularly the post-9/11 security barrier which would result in their homes bearing the brunt of any terrorist attack.

If approved, the existing building, designed by Eero Saarinen (best known for the TWA Terminal and St. Louis' Gateway Arch), will be flogged. Yet quite who wants to live in a heavily fortified house with a 35-foot long Bald Eagle peering over the front porch is another matter entirely - we'll leave that conundrum to the Foxtons funboys and their branded Minis.

Image from JDinBawimer's Flickrstream under the Creative Commons Attribution license