London spy tunnels to become a major tourist attraction

The Kingsway Exchange Tunnels in London could be transformed with a $268 million project. The Kingsway Exchanges are large underground neighborhoods, built in the 1940s to protect citizens from the World War II blitz, and have never been reopened to the public since.

The London architecture firm Wilkinson-Eyre proposed a series of renovations through the project “The London Tunnels”, which would radically renew the area, used after the conflict by British spies. A branch of MI6 – the UK’s foreign espionage agency – had indeed set up its headquarters there, inspiring James Bond’s “Q Branch”. In addition, during the Cold War, according to CNN, the tunnels also hosted the “hotline”, the direct telecommunication line that connects the Pentagon to the Kremlin. In the 1980s, British Telecom bought the site and installed the deepest bar in the world, accessible exclusively to government personnel. Then the site was dismantled.

If the project is approved in the fall, this space – between the Holborn district and the City – could become one of the most popular tourist destinations in London, thanks to its history and location.