You can't help but feel a bit sorry for Marble Arch. When it was built it had an intended purpose (albeit a grandiose and unnecessary purpose), but it ended up being a largely unwanted white elephant. (No pun intended in relation to the white colouring of the marble; especially as that had become discoloured by the pollution of a major capital city long ago.)

It was inspired by the Arch of Constantine in Roma. This is the more grandiose of the two arches near the Colosseum, the other being the Arch of Titus. Regular viewers may know that I have no particular love for Constantine - quite the opposite, in fact - but I don't hold that against Marble Arch.

Originally the Arch was intended to be an entrance to Buckingham Palace. However when the east wing of the palace was created, the arch had to be moved. Somehow it ended up here at the north-east corner of Hyde Park near Speakers' Corner. It then had a ripple effect, resulting in the area around it acquiring the name Marble Arch, including the nearby Underground Station.

The Arch is apparently maintained by the local council, which doubtless has more pressing priorities. Although the condition of the arch isn't bad, you can see plant growth very clearly up above the central arch, and some of the marble is discoloured. However I suspect that cleaning it would be an exercise in futility since pollution from the cars on the nearby road would simply cause it to become dirty again in quick order.

So here it sits, serving no particular purpose. While it might be a stretch to say that it's unloved, I doubt that most of the locals give it a second thought very often.