100 Years Ago.....Part 4 by neiwil

Photography • Historical • posted on Apr 12, 2012

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Description

Albion House was constructed between 1896 and 1898 and is positioned on the corner of James Street and the Strand across from the Pier Head Liverpool. Designed by architects Richard Norman Shaw and J.Francis Doyle,it was built for the Ismay,Imrie and Company Shipping Line,which later became the White Star Line. After White Star merged with the Cunard Line the headquarters remained at Albion House until 1927.The facade is constructed from white Portland stone and red brick and is better known in Liverpool as 'the streaky bacon building. In 1912, when news of the Titanic disaster reached the offices,the officials were too afraid to leave the building,which was besieged by a huge crowd and instead read the names of the deceased from the balcony above the main entrance. During World War II, the gable was damaged and was later rebuilt in the late 1940s. The design closely follows the architect's earlier work of 1887,the former New Scotland Yard building in London.In the 1980s the Offices in Albion House were noted for their exquisite Office desks of fine wood.The entrance to the building at James Street has a fine mosaic of South America set into the floor,also near the James Street entrance inside Albion House was a wooden war memorial listing the members of staff who "Gave their lives for their country" in the 1914-18 War. Albion House is now a Grade II listed building.

Comments (13)

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coyoteviper

6:53PM | Thu, 12 April 2012

quite a unique look. and a good deal of history.

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MacMyers

7:30PM | Thu, 12 April 2012

This is a pretty cool series Neil. Really interesting.

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blinkings

8:43PM | Thu, 12 April 2012

The streaky bacon building! I love it!!!!!

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auntietk

10:49PM | Thu, 12 April 2012

I've just been reading about buildings from this period. There was a time when buildings were getting taller but people didn't want them to LOOK tall. If you look at this building, you'll see that they've separated it visually into three parts (rather than just let it look like a nine-story building), via stone color and balconies and those corner towers. The multiple belt courses (undoubtedly the part that makes people call it streaky bacon) would also have been to make it look wide rather than tall. SO interesting! If I'd seen this two days ago, I wouldn't have known that. Thanks for your post! It's now information I'll probably retain for a long time. Did I mention what good shots these are? Excellent work.

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bmac62

10:55PM | Thu, 12 April 2012

Excellent photos Neil. A building unlike any other... And to think that Ismay ran his empire from here. Would love to see the inside. Found an original 1897 illustration of this building and see where some modifications were made to the roof/gable when it was repaired after WWII.

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fly028

1:15AM | Fri, 13 April 2012

Excelent shot and very nice story, thanks again!

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preeder

2:36AM | Fri, 13 April 2012

As always interesting.

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Maxidyne

7:24AM | Fri, 13 April 2012

An interesting and elegant building Neil. I wonder how many non-locals who see know of it's history. Thank you for continuing your "100 Years Ago" series. I find it truly fascinating.

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T.Rex

10:17AM | Fri, 13 April 2012

An architectural beauty of its day. I'd love to see it inside. This from a time when architecture was an art and not just "engineering". A pity it is hemmed in by those modern buildings! Good job with both photos and in compositing them, showing both side and front, and even a wee bit of the back. The light is just right in both photos, too. Your history gives a bit of shipping history. I knew of the merger with Cunard, but the earlier history was unknown to me. Thanks! Also, thanks for making the connection with New Scotland Yard. I'm glad the building is on a preservation roster. Keep up the good work! :-)

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