Which London museum has a facade with eight Ionic columns?

The story behind the answer

The British Museum has a façade whose central entrance portico uses eight Ionic columns.

The museum’s Great Russell Street front was designed by Sir Robert Smirke in the Greek Revival style. At its centre, an eight-column Ionic portico supports a triangular pediment, creating the temple-like entrance associated with the building. The Ionic capitals are recognizable by their spiral scrolls, or volutes.

Construction of the new museum began in the 1820s as the original Montagu House site was redeveloped. Smirke planned a large quadrangle and drew on all three principal Greek orders—Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—in different parts of the complex. The completed south front stretches roughly 370 feet and includes a much longer colonnade beyond the central portico.

The wording can cause confusion because the whole south façade has many more than eight columns: the British Museum describes its colonnade as having 44 Ionic columns. The eight refers specifically to the width of the main entrance portico, not the entire façade.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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