‘This Temple of the Arts and Muses’, part 1

John Wyver writes: ‘This Temple of the Arts and Muses’ is the opening phrase of the dedication, displayed in Latin and supposedly written by John Reith, at the entrance to Broadcasting House. Sited on an irregular plot in Portland Place, just north of Oxford Circus, the BBC’s headquarters was opened in May 1932. Palace of the Ether: Broadcasting House and the Architecture of the BBC, 1922-1932 is Elizabeth Darling’s handsome and fascinating study of the building and its contexts.. Beautifully produced by Lund Humphries (albeit hardly a snip at £45), this is a really exceptional book, elegantly written, crammed with information and ideas, and graced with wonderful illustrations. Here I want to draw out some of the elements that I found especially interesting; in a second post, I will focus on the (comparatively little) that the volume has to say about Studio BB, the basement location of the BBC’s 30-line television service which began just three months after the building’s official…