The place was described in Charles Dickens' Dictionary of London (1879) as "perhaps... the finest piece of street architecture in the City".

Works included the relocation of the statue from the centre of the junction where it obstructed drivers' sight lines to a nearby position on High Holborn.

From 1961 to 1994 the modernist headquarters of the Daily Mirror, designed by Sir Owen Williams and Anderson, Forster and Wilcox, were a prominent landmark overlooking the junction.

[6] To the west of Holborn Circus there is an equestrian statue of Prince Albert by Charles Bacon (1874)[7] which is the City of London's official monument to him.

The sculpture sits on an oblong plinth displaying plaques of Britannia, Albert and bronze figures representing commerce and peace.

It was presented by Charles Oppenheim, of the diamond trading company De Beers, whose headquarters is on nearby Charterhouse Street.