This first station opened on this site in 1864. It was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw and had a single span wrought iron roof covering the six platforms. The Charing Cross Hotel opened a year later giving the station a wonderfully ornate French Renaissance style fronting.

A replica of an Eleanor Cross was also erected in the station forecourt in1865. It stands 21m high and was designed by the architect of the hotel, E.M.Barry, who is best known for his work on Covent Garden. The original was the most expensive of 12 crosses King Edward I erected in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly resting-places along the route taken by her body as it was taken to London. It stood at the top of Whitehall on the south side of Trafalgar Square, but was destroyed in 1647 and replaced by an equestrian statue of Charles I in 1675. This point in Trafalgar Square is regarded as the official centre of London in legislation and when measuring distances from London. The new cross is not a faithful replica, being more ornate than the original.

The roof of the station tragically collapsed in 1905 killing two workmen, a bookstall vendor and three passers-by in the street - the death toll was lower than might be expected as the collapse was gradual and there was time to evacuate. The curve of this original roof can still be seen in the original interior brickwork.

In 1990 most of the area over the platforms was covered by Embankment Place, a post-modern office and shopping complex currently occupied by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.