Among Liverpool’s landmarks are a trio of waterfront buildings dating to the early 20th century; together, they’re called—for some reason—the Three Graces.
Two of the three have some architectural distinction, albeit in both cases eclectic and possibly over-infatuated with towers. That’s the Royal Liver Building (lye-ver, please!) at the very top and the Port of Liverpool Building with its dome just above. Their cousin in the middle, visible below, is the Cunard Building, and although it’s richly decorated within, it looks a poor cousin to the others.
The Liver building belonged to an insurance company; the birds on its towers are the city’s mascot Liver birds, a sort of distorted cormorant.
But a cruise along the Mersey on the ferry that connects the city to is opposite shore gives a view of some other buildings of note, one older than the Graces, and two much newer.
The Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock is one of the world’s largest brick buildings, and the largest brick warehouse ever built——27 million bricks, 30,000 panes of glass and 8,000 tons of steel. By the 1980s, it was derelict and abandoned, but has since been redeveloped with 550 apartments and large event spaces spread over its 36 acres of floor space.
A bit further up the river from the Graces is the simple terminal that serves the Isle of Man ferries, with its name in Manx as well as English.
In the opposite direction along the waterfront is the modern and well-worth-visiting Museum of Liverpool, whose shape and ramps are reminiscent of a ferry terminal. Just past it, at Albert Dock (and next to the M&S Arena entertainment venue) is what every modern city seems to need these days: a large Ferris wheel to look out over the city.
