# 1

It was #1 on the top 25 list, which was apparently not in any particular order, because it was not the highlight of all London's landmarks. It was a kinda strange experience, and didn't really have the historical or old feel. You wouldn't even know what you were looking at from the outside, as it looks just all the buildings around it. On the inside its strange too, since it is still used for banquets and parties, it was just a big open room. The story around it was super interesting though. The building is the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall, which was destroyed by fire in 1698. The story is that Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Pauls, blew up the buildings around in to keep the fire from spreading.

The most impressive piece of the building was by far the paintings on the ceiling. Crazy to think that they have been hanging there for almost 400 years. They have only come down during WWII. James I built the hall, and his son Charles I had the paintings made to honor his father. All of the pictures were supposed to tell a story about virtue and such but were more fun to look at than learn about, sorry!! Ironically, Charles I was executed for treason in front of the building in 1649.

This is the view walking into the hall