One day recently I managed to sneak in to The RSA building, which was much easier as it is in London (no borders to cross) ...
It wasn't the right time to take pictures really, hence only a few and not brilliant ones can I share:
And not being in a 'writing' mood, I'll commit a little sin by adding a few Wikipedia words about the RSA building:
The House, situated in John Adam Street, near the Strand in central London, had been purpose-designed by the Adam Brothers (James Adam and Robert Adam) as part of their innovative Adelphi scheme. The original building (6-8 John Adam Street) includes the Great Room, which features a magnificent sequence of paintings by Irish artist James Barry titled The progress of human knowledge and culture and portraits of the Society's first and second presidents, painted by Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds respectively.
The RSA has expanded into adjacent buildings in the intervening years, and now also includes 2 and 4 John Adam Street and 18 Adam Street.The first occupant of 18 Adam Street was the Adelphi Tavern, which is mentioned in Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. The former private dining room of the Tavern contains a magnificent Adam ceiling with painted roundels by the school of Kauffman and Zucchi.
The RSA devised a scheme for commemorating the links between famous people and buildings, by placing plaques on the walls — these continue today as "blue plaques" which have been administered by a range of government bodies. The first of these plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta erected outside a former residence of Lord Byron (since demolished). The Society erected 36 plaques until, in 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to the London County Council (which changed the colour of the plaques to the current blue) and, later, the Greater London Council (the G.L.C.) and, most recently, English Heritage. Similar schemes are now operated in all the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
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