Royal Liver Building

Royal Liver Building
Royal Liver Building, Pier Head, Liverpool
Map
Alternative names
  • The Liver Building
  • Royal Liver Assurance Building
General information
TypeCommercial offices
LocationPier Head, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates53°24′21″N 2°59′45″W / 53.4058°N 2.9958°W / 53.4058; -2.9958
Construction started1908
Completed1911
Cost£800,000
OwnerCorestate Capital
Height
Architectural98.2 m (322 ft)
Roof50.9 m (167 ft)
Technical details
Floor count13
Lifts/elevators12
Design and construction
Architect(s)Walter Aubrey Thomas
Main contractorEdmund Nuttall Limited
Designations
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameRoyal Liver Building
Designated12 July 1966
Reference no.1356370
References
[1][2][3][4]

The Royal Liver Building /ˈlvər/ is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It was also part of Liverpool's formerly UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.

Opened in 1911, the building was the purpose-built home of the Royal Liver Assurance group, which had been set up in the city in 1850 to provide locals with assistance related to losing a wage-earning relative. One of the first buildings in the world to be built using reinforced concrete, the Royal Liver Building stands at 98.2 m (322 ft) tall to the top of the spires, 103.7 m (340 ft) to the top of the birds and 50.9 m (167 ft) to the main roof.

The Royal Liver Building is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the city of Liverpool with its two fabled Liver Birds, which watch over the city and the sea. Legend has it that if the two birds were to fly away, the city would cease to exist.

The Liver Birds are 5.5 m (18 ft) high. Their added height gives the Royal Liver Building an overall height of 103.7 m (340 ft). A building of skyscraper proportion that was once one of the tallest buildings in the country, the Royal Liver Building is currently the fourth-tallest building in Liverpool.

  1. ^ "Royal Liver Building". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  2. ^ "Emporis building ID 110844". Emporis. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Royal Liver Building". SkyscraperPage.
  4. ^ Royal Liver Building at Structurae