Day, 55 Broadway

55 Broadway was built as the headquarters of London Underground, designed by Charles Holden and built between 1927 and 1929. In September 2019 Transport for London sold the monumental art deco structure to property investor Integrity International Group, probably for conversion to a hotel.

The building is graced by ten stone reliefs, none of which was much appreciated at the time of its construction, including works by Eric Gill and Henry Moore, and a pair of pieces by Jacob Epstein (1880–1959), entitled Day and Night.

Public and press opprobrium centred on Day for its portrayal of a father and his naked son and, in particular, for the proportions of the boy’s phallus. Frank Pick, ‘the man who built London Transport’ and commissioned the work, stood by Epstein and threatened to resign rather than remove the sculpture but Epstein deflected the criticism by ascending the building one night and reducing the length of the offending appendage by 1½ inches (3.8 cm).