Grosvenor Square

About Grosvenor Square

Square in the Mayfair district of London, England, UK

Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, London, the centrepiece of the Duke of Westminster's Mayfair estate and named after the duke's family surname, Grosvenor. It was developed in the 18th century for fashionable aristocratic residences, becoming one of London's largest and grandest squares, and in the 20th century it became a centre of American and Canadian diplomatic presence, earning the nickname "Little America": the United States Embassy occupied its west side in Eero Saarinen's famous building until it moved to Nine Elms across the river in 2018, and the square holds statues of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and of Eisenhower, with a memorial on its east side to the British victims of the attacks of 11 September 2001. Today it is in mixed use, with offices, hotels and residences. The writer Oscar Wilde lived in the square between 1883 and 1884 and referred to it four times in his works. Elegant buildings of the 18th to 20th centuries surround it, and at its centre lies a public garden of large trees, lawns and benches managed by The Royal Parks, one of the quietest places to sit in Mayfair between the shopping streets of Bond Street and Oxford Street, with Edgware Road and its Arab restaurants close by.

Where:

London, United Kingdom