Do you, or have you ever, worked in a very famous building?

[ferriswheel]

I've just lost the best part of a day watching Designated Survivor and it has made me think about all of the behind-the-scenes people who work in The White House, or Buckingham Palace, or any kind of place like that.

Does anyone have any exciting stories of what it is actually like?

I’ve worked in most jails in London. Some of them have an amazing history

@blueshoes as part of my work I got to visit a large financial services data centre on a fact-find a few years ago. Actually now that I think about it, I did 2 - the main one and then the back up in another county. It was just a giant room the size of a large gym hall full of different servers. I got to go down onto the floor (a rare ‘treat’ apparently) where one of the techies then got very enthusiastic about the different various of servers while I stood there going ‘hmmmmm’ and taking notes. Then in the afternoon I did the same at the second site. It was curiously interesting but I never needed any of the knowledge I gained that day to help me do my job!

I used to go to gigs in Chislehurst caves, when I was at uni, about 30 something years ago.

Soupforbrains, I think they do, I am pretty sure they sometimes take part as an Open House venue, though of course you can look studenty or academicyou can wander into the entrance hall and go to the coffee shop, or walk up the grand staircase and see how far you get!

I’ve worked at the treasury as well. Huge sense of history whenever I walk up the parliament street entrance staircase, I remind myself Churchill walked these stairs to appear on the balcony on VE Day.

Whenever I cross the drum/courtyard I pretend I am M ticking off James Bond for being a misogynist twatter and that while that might have been acceptable in the 60s, it’s. It how we do things now.

I also used to work in Senate House.. fantastic cafe, it used to have. It appears that several of my current colleagues are on here [eyes people suspiciously...]

I worked in Cunard Buildings in Liverpool for a bit! Not sure how famous it is outside of the city though!

piffpaff, I am by no means techie but it is just to surreal to think this rack of servers is where Goldman Sachs keeps its data and this is where Blackrock keeps its data or this is where the London stock exchange processes all its transactions.

In the background, you get the noise of all the servers humming (I imagine them humming) away efficiently.

There are all sorts of odd back lifts but the main ones seem pretty reliable! I went on a tour up to the roof a year or two back and that was in a v old dodgy lift! Yes, soup for brains, they do do tours as Viques says for open house, but as she/he also says, there is little security so you can just wander in...

‘Well, 007, I’m afraid your conduct really isn’t befitting a servant of her majesty and you really do need to consider how you act towards other civil servants, particularly women.’

Not quite in the same league but a family member used to live in a house that previously had a very famous resident. The house was mainly the way he left it.
After my family member moved out the house went to the care of the national trust.

It’s odd looking online and seeing their sitting room in pictures.

I get to visit so many public and historical buildings due to the nature of my job, particularly the parts that others don't get to see.

For example, Portcullis House, GCHQ, Cambridge Uni all colleges, Crown Courts, prisons (including one that has a bit as it was since the 1600s), museums, archive and data centres and tech companies. Also bank head offices and HQs of companies such as the Big Four.

blueshoes
Many years ago I visited one of the main processing centres for financial services payments. It was very non descript in a very boring location. Inside security was very tight. It was a very big room filled with computers. You had to keep your visitors pass visible at all times or security would turn up.

I've never worked anyway famous at all except B&Q....

I have quite the track record of working across the road from well knownish buildings. Tory Party HQ in Smith Square and the Flat Iron building in NYC.

blueshoes - I used to have a job which required regular visits to data centres in the UK. Security is...um...not as tight as it could be!

Now my job involves seeing lots and lots of London, including museums and galleries and odd old alleyways and buildings. I love it.

I used to work in the house of commons.

I worked at the Royal Academy

I studied and then worked at Christ College (Oxford) for the best part of a decade.

I'm not head of a fairly famous or well-known and old school.

I don't really have any exciting stories of Uni life beyond the regular antics. A few famous speakers and dining was amazing.

Again now, I enjoy working with a beautiful view of beautiful grounds but it doesn't make the job exciting.

My parent's house has graffiti from civil war soldiers in the loft space and we would often find musket balls and the like. We had bucketfuls of old clay pipe (tobacco) pieces too.

I love the feeling of history you get with some buildings and do think atmospheres are created over time. Not exciting as such but on days where I know it's going to be difficult or I'm tired or whatever else, the building reminds me how lucky I am.

Ah, aas I was about to post, I remembered something which is only likely to happen in a famous building. There is a large storage space in the school's main building loft with cupboards, small rooms etc. One year we employed a locksmith to open all of them and inside was an unknown painting by a famous painter. I think more would be outing but it was extremely exciting.

Another one here for 1 Canada Square (Canary Wharf tower). The company I worked for was one of the first tenants in the early 90s. Ghost town. There was just one coffee shop & Boots the chemist. Nearest pub was at Limehouse.

I work in sport and have never lost the thrill of going to Lord’s Cricket Ground on a Monday morning! Even (especially) in winter. When the champagne tent etc goes up for the season, it’s exciting, but then you remember that you have to share with thousands of others for a few days at a time such a buzz though.
I’ve previously worked in hospitality at horse racing (Cheltenham and ascot) and twickenham.

I did a work placement as an exchange student in the North Tower of the world trade centre in New York.

It was an amazing place, there was always such a buzz down in the lobby and outdoor 'quad' area. Used to have lunch in Windows onThe World which was the restaurant right at the top. On Fridays there would normally be a band or something and on Fridays we'd all blow our pay cheques at this ice cream stall.

I left on February 10th, 2001, pretty much exactly 7 months before 9/11. I feel immensely privileged that I got to work there but obviously it's a bitter sweet feeling.

I try not to think about it too much, but sometimes the morbid thoughts sneak in and I wonder how many people I stood behind in line with, held the elevator for, picked something up they'd dropped, served me in the restaurant, that died that day.

I have been back to the memorial many times and One world trade centre is stunning but to me, nothing will come close to the originals. It was like a city within a city. The sheer height of it I've never experienced anywhere else, even though some others may be bigger, WTC just seemed to have this gravitas to it, some days I'd feel the tower actually swaying.

Lovely thread OP.

Not me but my friend worked in Buckingham Palace until a couple of years ago as a lady in waiting.

Ive always wondered how one becomes a “lady in waiting “