140 Gower Street, Office building in Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom
140 Gower Street is a multi-story concrete and glass office building on the corner of Gower Street and Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. The block dates from the 1960s and sits at one of the busier road junctions in this part of central London.
The site previously held a Victorian building used partly by publishing businesses, which was demolished to make way for the current structure in the 1960s. For nearly two decades from 1976, MI5 used the building as one of its operational bases before vacating it.
The building sits at the edge of Bloomsbury, a part of London long associated with publishing, medicine, and academic life. Walking past it today, you can still sense that mix, with university buildings, research centers, and medical institutions all nearby.
Euston Square Underground station is a short walk away, and Euston mainline station is also within easy walking distance. The building is straightforward to spot from the street, sitting right on a large road junction with good visibility from both Gower Street and Euston Road.
Despite housing a security service for nearly two decades, the building has no outward sign of that past and looks like any other postwar office block from the street. After MI5 left, the Wellcome Foundation took over and gave it the name Babcock House.
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