Description: Showing the Albert Hall through the trees. The original Albert Hall was the first major commission of Watson Fothergill, the famous Nottingham architect. He won the major competition to design the (first) Albert Hall. His concert hall could seat 2,500 people and was said to have had wonderful acoustics. It was in the French Early Gothic style, and the front was dominated by a huge saddle-back tower, nearly 150 feet tall. It was opened on 20th September, 1876. In 1902 the building became the Albert Hall Methodist Mission. It sadly burnt down on the night of 2nd April, 1906. The present day 'Albert Hall', with its large asymmetric tower, was constructed in 1907-8 by A E Lambert and is a typical Edwardian music hall (Pevsner).