Tower Building, Liverpool

Tower Buildings stand close to the waterfront in Liverpool city centre, directly opposite the ‘Three Graces’ – three grand old buildings which face out across the River Mersey from the waterfront. Tower Buildings has a rich history of its own, with the current structure bearing hallmarks of the first to stand here – a sandstone mansion, built in 1256. This was replaced by the Tower of Liverpool, a fortified house built in 1406. Throughout the 18th century, the building was used as a civic hall and even a prison. Liverpool Corporation bought the site in 1774, but it wasn’t until 1846 that a new structure, the first to be known as Tower Buildings, was built by Sir James Picton.

The current building was completed in 1910, and designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, a local architect who also created the Royal Liver Building. True to its roots, the building maintained a sandstone effect frontage, and is heavily fortified – it was one of the first buildings in England to be constructed around a steel frame. An office building for much of the 20th century, Tower Buildings were renovated in 2006, and are now a mixture of retail units and private residential accommodation. The original structure, composed of granite laid over its steel frame, with white terracotta tiling, is Grade II listed.