Almost 10 years ago, campaigners thought they had lost the former Andrew Carnegie library forever.
The Tuebrook landmark and community space had been loved by successive generations but was forced to close in 2006 due to health and safety fears.
After years of abandonment and deterioration, critical works were finally able to be carried out in 2014 in a bid to see the structure saved - but the library's future was far from certain.
READ MORE: Library that was left to rot now up for major architecture award
“At three o'clock every morning I worried about it,” Gaymor Williams told the ECHO.
Ms Williams is the CEO of Lister Steps charity - the lead developers on the project to bring the library back to life.
She added: “When we got the contractors on site and they started stripping everything back there was damage to the roof.
“It was seriously threatening the project. The building was full of wet rot.
“We were all concerned how sustainable the project was if we discovered more issues.
“There were a lot of honest and frank discussions about the priority of the building.
“It was one of those situations where you think ‘oh god, what have we started'.“
Eight years later and the former Andrew Carnegie Library has reopened as The Old Library - home to Lister Steps and a range of community spaces.
This week, its restoration, designed by OMI architects, was shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects North West architecture award.
It’s an unlikely but miraculous turnaround for a building that was seemingly left to rot.
It now proudly serves as “a story of the power of community”, according to Gaynor Williams.
She told the ECHO: “I used to pass the library every day. I loved it from when I was taking my own children there and thought it is such a shame that our heritage is being lost.
“It's a beautiful building.
“When Liverpool City Council put the advertisements out for expressions of interest [to restore it], I was straight in there.”
Lister Steps was formed in 1997 and works with families and children.
The charity was based in a number of venues but found itself operating from portacabins on Carnegie Road and was wanting to expand - with the library a possible location if it could be restored.
After gaining preferred developer status, the ambitious plans started rolling in 2013 which included securing funding from the city council and National Lottery Heritage Fund - which eventually approved £3.95m.
Work began on the site in 2019 and The Old Library opened its doors to the public in 2020.
For Ms Williams, the project was more than a case of reopening an old landmark.
She said: “It was becoming an eyesore on Green Lane. It was a symbol of the decline of the area.
“Part of our main aim was to be the catalyst that starts that regeneration process and gets that community pride into the area, somewhere that gets people working together so they have a place to meet.
“For so long it was an unused treasure. The landscape around it had become overgrown and the trees became self populated. It was becoming hidden.
“When we got some volunteers out and started clearing the ground out. it was like it was being reborn and people were becoming more aware of it.
“I think it really is a story about the power of community. We got so many local people who were supportive of what we were doing. Really championing the library.
“During that we found out how loved the building was. And how people wanted to see it back.”
