Royal Liver Building, Merseyside, Liverpool, England 26th September 2009

The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool
Videoed from the Atlantic Tower Hotel, Chapel Street, Liverpool on Saturday, 26th September 2009.


"Designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, the Royal Liver Building was built for the Royal Liver Assurance company and opened in 1911. At the top of the building, sat on each of the two towers are the mythical Liver Birds, the symbol of Liverpool. They are 18 feet tall, have a total wing span of 24 feet and are made of copper. Local legend has it that if they fly away, Liverpool will cease to exist. The Liver Birds are a cross between an eagle and a cormorant (the bird of good luck to sailors). A German sculptor called Carl Bernard Bartels, who was living in England, designed them. When the Great War broke out, Carl Bernard Bartels was arrested as a German citizen and imprisoned on the Isle of Man. The City of Liverpool removed all reference to his achievements and at the end of the war, despite having a wife in London, he was sent back to Germany.
The clocks, 25 feet in diameter, are bigger than the clocks in London's Big Ben and are the largest electrically driven clocks in the United Kingdom. They were built to give mariners the most accurate local time and are said to be accurate to within thirty seconds per year. The Royal Liver Building is 90 metres (295 feet) in height and has thirteen floors. When it was completed in 1911, the Royal Liver Building was Britain's first skyscraper. It was built using a revolutionary steel and concrete structure."

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[1100HondaCB]

I was there on July the 16th 2011 and stayed at the Crowne Plazza opposite the Liver building, which is also opposite the church. I went there for the nightlife, but my enthusiasm was hindered because the weather was dreadful so came home early. The previous year, I was in Liverpool during the August bank holiday for four days for work and the weather was great. Then, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was this that gave me the incentive to go again. Just a shame about the weather!

[RichySKing]

It's a very beautiful building. I wish architecture would revert back to what it used to be. Modern architecture is hideous.