By taking out the base of the rightmost column, you avoided the worst of the distortion, which I do not have a problem with anyway. I think this is an appropriate use of the wide lens and its distortion is limited, acceptable, and allows you to get the image.
I don't personally care for architectural shots with people in them. I prefer the architecture to speak for itself. Reference Thomas Struth's architectural images.   Posted: 04/07/2025 03:29:08

Works well, matter of taste- I guess. I personally don't prefer barrel distortion, so it does look odd to me.   Posted: 04/13/2025 15:40:45

The figure acts as a focal point for the image but it also prevents one's eye moving past it to the base of the Mall. It points to the ceiling, which actually is really interesting. The distortion doesn't matter since no-one know exactly what the original looked like and with your camera angled up slightly, there is a perspective effect anyway. I like the mono conversion but I feel maybe you should darken down the very light part of the arch at the topframe edge. I like the way the clouds have been rendered through the glass.   Posted: 04/13/2025 18:38:45