The building nicknamed "Armadillo"

Once Labour regained control of the GLC from the Tories in May 1981 the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was determined to abolish the council.
There began a four year political battle to remove the council, run by the Labour politician Ken Livingstone, whose far-left policies earned him the title Red Ken.
An initial attempt was defeated, but a Bill published in 1984 precipitated the end of the GLC and in 1986 the Greater London Council was abolished and thousands of people took part in festivities to mark the historic final hours of 97 years of local rule in London.
A throng of 250,000 people gathered on the South Bank in London, home to the Greater London Council to witness the final hours. Festivities ended with the largest display of fireworks ever seen in the city after a week of events costing £250,000.
In May 1997 Labour was elected to power with a manifesto commitment to allow Londoners a referendum on whether they wanted a new mayor and a Greater London Authority.
They overwhelmingly voted for a council which came into existence in July 2000 with Ken Livingstone as mayor.
He won the mayoral election as an independent after Labour expelled him for not supporting the party's official candidate.
He was re-admitted into the party in January 2004 after Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted he was wrong about his prediction that Mr Livingstone would be a "disaster" for London.

In July 2002 the new Greater London Authority moved into a new building on the side of the Thames. City Hall was designed by Foster and Partners, one of Britain's leading architects, whose design brief was to create a building for the GLA that would become a new landmark for the capital. It is part of the More London development located between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames. The GLA is leasing City Hall for 25 years.

Now owned by a Japanese company, the old County Hall building has been transformed into a leisure complex. The main riverside building contains the offices of the British Airways London Eye Experience, London Aquarium, Dali Universe tourist attractions and Namco Station, a corporate entertainment centre, as well as Premier Inn and London Marriott hotels. Dining opportunities include Locale a pizza and pasta restaurant and McDonald's.

County Hall Lettings Company handles the residential accommodation in the complex. The Club at County Hall is an exclusive health and leisure club.