Hyde London City resides within the historic City of London, a compact yet mighty district that has stood at the heart of British history for generations. Not to be confused with “Greater London,” this one-square-mile enclave is both a relic of the past and a commercial powerhouse in the present. Its story is one of resilience, reinvention, and remarkable continuity that stretches back nearly two millennia. The origins of the City of London specifically trace to the 1st century AD, when the Romans established a settlement called “Londinium” along the northern bank of the River Thames. Its strategic location made it an ideal base for trade and governance. By the 2nd century, Londinium had grown into a bustling metropolis, complete with a forum, amphitheater, and defensive barrier—parts of which still stand today, embedded in the fabric of the current urban landscape. However, Roman rule waned throughout the 5th century, and Londinium gradually began to decline. For a time, the area was largely abandoned, its once-grand structures left to decay. It was not until the late 9th century that the locale underwent a period of revival under the legendary King Alfred the Great, who re-established the settlement as “Lundenburg” in the late 9th century. He fortified the Roman walls, while encouraging widespread trade within them, effectively laying the foundation for the medieval City of London. When the Norman Conquest thus started in the 11th century, London had become the largest city in all England. William the Conqueror, recognizing its importance, subsequently built the Tower of London to assert control and granted the City special privileges in return for its loyalty.  

The Middle Ages saw the area develop influential commercial and political ties, including the formation of the City of London Corporation, a unique municipal body that exclusively governed the district. Furthermore, the City was divided into 25 wards—each with its own alderman—and its citizens enjoyed a degree of self-governance rare in medieval Europe. Guilds and livery companies flourished, too, which helped regulate local industries and supported civic life in general. In fact, the Guildhall, built in the 15th century, became the administrative heart of the whole City region. Meanwhile, the Royal Exchange, founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham, cemented London’s role as a major European center of finance. Nevertheless, the 16th and 17th centuries brought both catastrophe and transformation to the City. For instance, the Great Plague of 1665 decimated the population, killing an estimated 100,000 people. Then just a year later, the Great Fire of London proceeded to destroy much of the City, leaving its surviving residents destitute. Despite the devastation, the fire provided an opportunity for renewal. Under the guidance of Sir Christopher Wren, the City was rebuilt with wider streets and more fire-resistant buildings. Wren’s masterpiece, St. Paul’s Cathedral, emerged as a particularly poignant symbol of resilience and revival for the district’s inhabitants. The City’s revival was further bolstered by the establishment of both the Bank of England and London Stock Exchange inside the district, which oversaw unprecedented amounts of wealth arrive in the country throughout the 18th century.  

This incredible prosperity continued through the Victorian era, which produced a host of infrastructure projects that greatly revolutionized the City’s appearance. Perhaps the most consequential structures included the Thames Embankment and the iconic London Underground transit system. Although other neighborhoods would soon challenge the City’s economic and political dominance, it remained central to London’s very identity heading into the 20th century. But while the World Wars inflected heavy damage on the City—especially during the tumultuous Blitz—the area nonetheless continued to attract all kinds of lucrative business activity. Today, the City of London is home to fewer than 10,000 residents yet hosts over 500,000 workers daily. It also remains a global financial center, rivaled only by New York, with institutions like Lloyd’s of London, the London Stock Exchange, and countless multinational banks headquartered in the area. The City is more than just business hub, though—it is a place where ancient rituals coexist alongside cutting-edge innovations. Cultural landmarks abound across the district, including the Barbican Centre, Museum of London, Leadenhall Market, the Old Bailey, and the Guildhall, which offer glimpses into its layered past. Additionally, churches designed by Wren, medieval alleyways, and ancient Roman ruins lie mere minutes from modern glass skyscrapers and fintech startups. The City of London is thus more than a neighborhood, for it embodies the very essence of London and England as a whole.  

When architect Evans Cronk first set about designing the magnificent Hyde London City centuries ago, he decided to mimic the architectural aesthetics of the so-called “Second Empire” style then circulating across France. Also known simply as “mansard style,” Second Empire architecture first emerged in Paris at the height of the reign of Emperor Napoléon III. Born Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, he was the nephew of the legendary Napoléon Bonaparte of the French Revolution. He rose to power by serving as France’s president before making himself its monarch by the middle of the 1800s. Nevertheless, his reign saw a brief restoration in French national pride that was accompanied by a cultural renaissance that affected everything from the arts to the sciences. One of the areas that saw this development was architecture. Napoléon III had taken a particular interest with architectural projects at the time, going as far as to commission the complete redesign of Paris’ central cityscape. He subsequently appointed engineer Georges-Eugène Haussmann for the project, instructing the latter to create a new generation of buildings that could accommodate the city’s swelling population. Largely borrowing design elements from the French Renaissance of the 16th century, Haussmann essentially created a brand-new architectural form that soon defined the appearance of Paris. While the project itself only lasted from 1853 to 1870, its impact was felt throughout the world for many years thereafter. Haussmann’s new form quickly appeared across France, as well as many other countries throughout Europe, including Belgium, Austria, and England. Furthermore, the architecture quickly emerged in North America, finding a popular audience in both the United States and Canada. Many hoteliers like Frank Jones saw the fabulous design aesthetics of Second Empire architecture and copied it for their own structures throughout the remainder of the 19th century.     

Second Empire architecture was specifically meant for larger structures that could easily showcase its ornate features and grandiose materials. Architects, business owners and other professionals who embraced the form believed that it represented the best of modernity and human progress. This idea especially found an audience in America, where society was largely perceived to be on an upward path of collective mobility. (In fact, the architecture had become so enmeshed in American society that some took to calling it “General Grant” style.) The form looked like the equally popular Italianate-style, in which it embraced an asymmetrical floor plan that was rooted to either a “U” or “L” shaped foundation. The buildings usually stood two to three stories, although some commercial structures—like hotels—exceeded that threshold. Large ornate windows proliferated across the facade, while a brilliant wrap-around porch occasionally functioned as the main entry point. The porches would also have several outstanding columns, designed to appear smooth in appearance. Every window and doorway featured decorative brackets that typically sat underneath lavish cornices and overhanging eaves. Gorgeous towers known and cupolas typically resided toward the top of the building, too. Yet, Second Empire architecture broke from Italianate in one major way—the appearance of the roof. Architects always incorporated a mansard-style roof onto the building, which consisted of a four-sided, gambrel-style structure that was divided among two different slopes. Set at a much longer, steeper angle than the first, the second slope often contained many beautiful dormer windows. The mansard roof became a central component to Second Empire architecture after Georges-Eugène Haussmann and his fellow French architects starting using it for their own designs. They had specifically sought to copy the mansard roof of The Louvre, which the renowned François Mansart had created back at the height of the French Renaissance.