[1] It was completed in 1962 for the Admiralty[2] on the site of the former Empress Hall and ice rink as a commercial building and was 100 metres (328 ft) tall with 28 floors, designed by Stone, Toms & Partners and was briefly the tallest commercial building in London until Millbank Tower was built in 1962.

Plus a frontal extension of 5 meters 'Orbit' is the name given to the private revolving bar on the top floor which offers panoramic views of London.The revolving bar element was shut down This building was originally designed as a hotel but was first used by the Admiralty and GCHQ.

An annexe at the entrance to the site housed the Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre until January 2020.

[5] In March 2018 the London mayor's office agreed to buy the ESB estate for its MPS operations from Capco Plc, the developer of the adjacent Earl's Court regeneration scheme, for £250 million to house a new Counter Terrorism Operations Centre.

[6][7] Funding for that project was confirmed in November 2020, from 23rd December 2024 the building is designated as a Prohibited Place under The National Security Act 2023[8], it is expected to re-open in that role by late 2025.