Somerset House was built in 1906 for the United Building Society. The building’s Edwardian classicism, symbolising stability and permanence, is attributed to architect R.L. McCowat. United moved to larger premises in 1928, and the building’s new owners replaced the facade’s arched windows with shopfronts and converted the banking hall into a retail arcade in 1930, but the basement safety deposit boxes remained until 2000. It has many notable original features, including art-nouveau tiles. Restoration of the building in 2018 by Olitzki Property Holdings included re-opening the arcade into Gandhi Square.