It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect C. Howard Crane.

[2] Located in Earl's Court but straddling the boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, it was the largest such venue within the capital served by two London Underground stations—one of them, Earl's Court tube station, being specially adapted with a tunnel for show visitors, and in latter years with a direct link to Heathrow Airport.

The founder of the entertainment grounds was the Leeds entrepreneur John R. Whitley and the first attraction headlined performances by Buffalo Bill Cody as part of the American Show visited by Queen Victoria and subsequently by members of the Royal Household.

The notion of introducing education and entertainment to the area was effected by John Robinson Whitley, an entrepreneur who used the land as a showground for a five years from 1887.

Designed by the specialist American theatre architect, C. Howard Crane, with over 40,000 sq m of space over two levels, Earls Court finally opened its doors to the public for the Chocolate and Confectionery Exhibition on 1 September 1937.

Earls Court Two was built over the London Underground and British Rail lines and adjacent land originally occupied by a mass of sheds linked to the Lillie Bridge Engineering and Railway Depot in Hammersmith and Fulham.

These were approved in outline by the two local authorities in 2013, along with a swathe of public housing, existing retail and the historic Lillie Bridge Depot in Fulham in order to make way for four new urban "villages" inspired by Terry Farrell on the 80-acre site, which was expected to be completed in 2033.

For this the area now occupied by Earls Court Two became a stables, artillery and vehicle depot for some two months, with several hundred military personnel from all three services billeted 'on site'.

The convention held autograph and photoshoot sessions with celebrity guests as well as providing a place to play games and buy collectables.

During the First World War, Earls Court Exhibition grounds, including the adjacent 6,000 seater Empress Hall, turned into a huge refugee camp of the British Government.

[11] Empress Hall was the site of the first game played outside of North America by any of the major North American professional sports leagues, when on 21 April 1938 the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL played the starting game of the 1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour there.

Earls Court was the venue for the visit or mulaqat of the Aga Khan during the inauguration of the Ismaili Centre at Cromwell Gardens on 24 April 1985.

Earls Court was one of the most popular arenas to play in the UK, with a capacity of around 19,000 including standing room, meaning it was often chosen over other venues by bands with a large fan base.

In November 1995, Oasis staged the two biggest ever indoor gigs at the time in Europe, at a specially expanded Earls Court.

[citation needed] The owner of Earls Court and Olympia, Capital & Counties Properties (also known as Capco), opened discussions in 2010 with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea to demolish the existing landmark centre and redevelop the area with up to 8,000 residential flats, retail outlets and, possibly, a new convention centre.

[24] Since the site's acquisition by Capco plc as part of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre deal, it is being redeveloped as "Lillie Square", an estate of apartment blocks, some of them high-rise.

[26] The Group is composed of local residents and interested parties who would be affected by the exhibition centre's destruction and subsequent 20 years of proposed redevelopment.

The winners will be the wealthy developers and overseas property speculators while the losers will be the community, local businesses and Londoners who will lose one of the capital's key exhibition centres.

Sensitivities on the Conservative Kensington and Chelsea side have grown since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017 has put elected representatives in the spotlight in relation to their public responsibilities.

In February 2019 Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council let it be known they were considering a Compulsory purchase order to take over the Earls Court and adjacent land currently banked by the developers.

[30] Capco plc sold their declining interest in Earls Court to APG, a Dutch pension fund, and to the British firm Delancey for £425 million in November 2019.