As one of the city's most famous buildings, it’s hard to imagine what Liverpool used to look like before the Royal Liver Building was built.
At 98m high, the Grade II listed building was dubbed as Britain's first 'skyscraper' when it opened on July 19, 1911.
The building, designed by W Aubrey Thomas, was one of the earliest examples of a multi-storey concrete building ever erected and cost £533,000 to build – more than £50m in today’s money.
READ MORE: Social club in the underground of the Liver Building you never knew about
It is one of the Three Graces, along with The Cunard Building and The Port of Liverpool Building, which make up the iconic skyline that our city is renowned for.
Construction first began on the building in 1907, when it was designed as an office for around 6,000 employees of the Royal Liver Group.
The Royal Liver Building has played an important part in the city's history ever since, and is a world famous landmark, not least for the two Liver birds adorning its clock towers.
They are nicknamed Bella and Bertie. Bella looks out to sea to ensure the boats arrive safely into port, while Bertie watches over the city protecting the citizens of Liverpool.
The clock – Great George – was built in Leicester and was set in motion on July 22, 1911 - the precise moment King George V was crowned.
The clock faces are bigger than those of Big Ben – and each minute hand is 14 feet long.
By the 1970s the Royal Liver Building was in desperate need of repair and Royal Liver pondered selling it, but instead it refurbished the building from top to bottom.
But Royal Liver was hit by the recession from 2008 onwards and eventually joined merger talks with rival Royal London.
The deal was agreed in 2011 and remaining Royal Liver staff moved to Royal London’s Cheshire base the following year, when the Royal Liver name disappeared.
In October 2016, the building was put up for sale for the first time in its history, with a Luxembourg-based investment group, Corestate Capital, buying it for £48 million in February 2017.
Today, people can take a tour of the iconic building with the Royal Liver Building 360.
T he ECHO has launched a new 56-page nostalgia supplement in print. It's packed with photos from the recent past and the not-so-recent, from shopping, fashion and music to the Albert Dock – plus an elephant on parade in Woolton. You can order a copy here.
