 Central Saint Giles stands on the site of St Giles Court, an office development originally erected in the 1950s for the Ministry of Supply and latterly used by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).It consisted of a series of linked brick blocks of six to eight storeys high, arranged in an S-shape around two inner courtyards to which there was no public access.The grim appearance of St Giles Court contributed to the area becoming a magnet for prostitutes and the homeless.