8 Northumberland Avenue's history is as colorful as the LED fixtures that now illuminate it. Built in 1887, the building operated as a 500-room first-class hotel until 1940, when it was requisitioned by the War Office. The building remained occupied by the Crown and inaccessible to the public until 2007, when it underwent a year-long, full-fledged restoration. It finally reopened its doors for general use in 2010, armed with brand new Philips Color Kinetics color-changing LED fixtures in the Old Billiard Room and Ballroom.