Liverpool and the surrounding area has a rich and varied architecture, making a walking tour a great opportunity to step back in time. The most famous buildings in Merseyside are even more interesting once you look into their history and their place in the city’s lore.
The Grand
The Grand in Southport is one of the region’s most impressive buildings, and has a long, varied history during which it’s been used in several ways. It was built in 1923 as a car showroom with petrol pumps outside it. It must have seemed like an excellent business idea, as figures from the Department of Transport show over 380,000 cars on the UK’s road that year, which would rise to a million by the end of the decade. Yet before long, it had become the luxurious Grand Cinema, and then it was converted into a bingo hall in the 1960s.
For many locals, it’s still The Grand Casino, as it enjoyed a period at the turn of the century under this name. While the casino closed in 2007, you can still find gambling games in Merseyside when you play roulette online at Betfair. Live dealer games such as Turbo Roulette Live and Immersive Roulette Live are streamed from a luxurious studio setting that may remind those players who once visited The Grand of this casino’s opulence. Games are played in a similar way to the roulette games once played in Southport’s famous casino, but the digital aspect has allowed creators the chance to add new features like random multipliers.
Royal Liver Building
Topped by two giant liver birds, this is possibly Liverpool’s most iconic building. The birds are mythical, but their design is based on cormorants and they even have names; Bella and Bertie. Legend has it that the city will disappear if these birds ever fly away, which is why they’re chained to the building. This is one of the Three Graces on the Pier Head, alongside the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building.
Built in 1911 as the Royal Liver Assurance’s offices, it was one of the world’s first reinforced concrete buildings. Visitors can now see the West Clock Tower up close as part of the Royal Liver Building 360 experience. With 360-degree views across the city and audiovisual elements, it gives us a new way to see Liverpool from a great height.
The Adelphi Building
The story of the Adelphi Hotel began in 1826 when it was built on the site of the Ranelagh Gardens. A new and more luxurious hotel replaced it in the 1870s, and this 300-room building soon became famous amongst wealthy travellers. Their signature dish was a delicious turtle soup, with heated tanks in the basement used to keep a supply of live turtles. Described by many celebrity travellers over the years as a favourite place to stay, the Adelphi is now Grade II listed and still operating as a hotel.
These are just a few memorable buildings in and around Liverpool that we can still enjoy today. Understanding a little more about them helps us to appreciate their place in Merseyside’s history and why they need to be protected for future generations.