United Kingdom Carreras Cigarette Factory/Greater London House

José Joaquin Carreras set up a cigarette factory in 1904 with Bernhard Baron, called Arcadia Works. The factory outgrew its original site, so they moved to Mornington Crescent in 1928.

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922 and a stylised Egyptian Art Deco was soon the rage in England.

The black cat, which had long appeared on the cigarette packets, appears high on the façade. Two cats, with more of a resemblance to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet, appear at the entrance to the building.

Marcus Evelyn Collins and Owen Hyman Collins designed the building to also include entirely new features for the comfort of workers: an air conditioning system and dust extraction. Adolf Hitler had it earmarked as his London Head Quarters but failed to show up and collect the keys.

ASOS, the UK fashion retailer gutted the interior in 2018. It now provides modern office space for a range of companies. Much of what we see now was the result of a restoration done in the 1990. Even the cats had strayed (one even made it to Jamaica) and had to be recast.

Mornington Crescent is on the Northern Line of the London Underground.