Imperial Institute

Imperial Institute South Kensington, designed by T E Collcutt, was intended as a national memorial of completion of the fiftieth year of the Queen's reign. The foundation stone was laid by Queen Victoria in 1887, and it was opened by her in great state on May 10th, 1893.

It was intended as a centre for information and consultation on all matters connected with the Empire, but was largely unsuccessful in that purpose and hence later much of the building was subsequently demolished. As a result of pressure from the Royal Fine Arts Commission and other bodies, the part of the original building known as the Queen's Tower was saved and has since been subsumed by Imperial College, London.