<P> Pall Mall was once the centre of London's fine art scene; in 1814 the Royal Academy, the National Gallery and Christie's auction house were all based on the street . </P> <P> The freehold of much of the southern side of the Pall Mall is owned by the Crown Estate . In addition to St. James's Palace, Marlborough House, which was once a royal residence, is its neighbour to the east, opening off a courtyard just to the south of the street . It was built for Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough who laid the foundation stone in 1709, with building complete by 1711 . The house reverted to Crown ownership in 1817; the future King George V was born here in 1865 and briefly lived in the house as Prince of Wales during the reign of his father, Edward VII . It became government - owned in 1959 and houses now the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation . The Prince Regent's Carlton House was built at the eastern end of Pall Mall in 1732 for Frederick, Prince of Wales and later inhabited by his widow, Princess Augusta . A ball was held at the house on 19 June 1811 to celebrate the start of the Prince's regency, but ultimately he did not decide to stay in the house upon ascending the throne, and it was demolished . John Nash built Carlton House Terrace on its site between 1827 and 1832 . </P> <P> Pall Mall was the location of the War Office from 1855 to 1906, with which it became synonymous (just as Whitehall refers to the administrative centre of the UK government). The War Office was accommodated in a complex of buildings based on the ducal mansion, Cumberland House . The office subsequently moved to Whitehall . </P> <P> The street contained two other architecturally important residences . Schomberg House, at Nos. 80--82 Pall Mall was built in 1698 for Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg and divided into three parts in 1769 . The eastern section of the house was demolished in 1850, but reconstructed in the mid-1950s for office use . Buckingham House was the London residence of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos . It was rebuilt in the 1790s by Sir John Soane and sold by the Buckingham estate in 1847 . The house was demolished in 1908 to make way for the Royal Automobile Club . </P>

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