Museum of Liverpool

The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened in 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum of Liverpool Life. The museum is housed in a new purpose-built building on the Mann Island site at the Pier Head.

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Manchester Dock, Liverpool

Manchester Dock was a dock on the River Mersey in England and a part of the Port of Liverpool. The dock was not part of the interconnected dock system, but was connected directly to the river.

Chester Basin

Chester Basin was a tidal basin on the River Mersey, in Liverpool, England. The basin was situated between the Pier Head and Manchester Dock.

Liverpool Naval Memorial

The Liverpool Naval Memorial, also known as the Memorial to the Missing of the Naval Auxiliary Personnel of the Second World War or the Merchant Navy War Memorial, is a war memorial at Pier Head beside the River Mersey in Liverpool, near to the Royal Liver Building and the Museum of Liverpool. It commemorates nearly 1,400 men from the British Merchant Navy who died on active service with Royal Navy in the Second World War, and who have no known grave. More than 13,000 officers and seamen of the Merchant Navy agreed to serve with the Royal Navy in the Second World War, serving mainly in auxiliary vessels such as armed merchant cruisers, subject to military discipline but still receiving civilian pay. The depot for registration and administration of the naval auxiliaries from the Merchant Navy was established at Liverpool. After the Second World War, the Imperial War Graves Commission (later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) organised a competition for a memorial, with a budget of £5,000, open to architects who had served in the armed forces. The winning design was created by architects Charles Frederick Blythin and Stanley Harold Smith, with sculpture by George Herbert Tyson Smith. It was unveiled by Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope on 12 November 1952. The memorial comprises a narrow cylindrical column of Portland stone topped by a glazed lantern, which has glass lenses with a reflective backing intended to resemble a lighthouse, which stands on a semicircular Portland stone platform surrounded by curved walls. The platform is reached by flight of six steps, and the walls support a pair of stone globes, one terrestrial and one celestial. The memorial bears the inscription "These officers and men of the Merchant Navy died while serving with the Royal Navy and have no grave but the sea 1939–1945". The names of the dead are inscribed on 25 bronze plaques arranged around the curved Portland stone walls of the memorial. It became a Grade II listed building in 2010. Among several other memorials at Pier Head are memorials to seamen from Norway, Poland, China, the Netherlands and Belgium who served in the Second World War, and a memorial dedicated to the Merchant Navy unveiled in 1998. There is a proposal to erect a large Battle of the Atlantic memorial nearby. Merchant seamen lost at sea in the First and Second World Wars are also commemorated by the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill in London.

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Fourth Grace

The Fourth Grace was a planned development to be built on the Liverpool Pier Head, as a part of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008 bid. The project name was derived from its location adjacent to the three historic buildings at the Pier Head site, known as "the Three Graces". These are the Port of Liverpool Building, the Cunard Building and the Royal Liver Building. Four proposals were submitted, all of which received criticism for their appearance and contrast to the city's famed historic skyline. 'Fourth Grace Foster' (seen as one of the most likely developments for the site, and named after architects Foster and Partners), comprised a triangular 145 m (476 ft) tower (which would have completely overshadowed the Three Graces), containing some 500 apartments alongside a 100-room 5-star hotel, and a block designed to resemble the hull of a ship extending out over the river. The development would have contained office space and a museum site. 'Fourth Grace Rogers', by the Richard Rogers Partnership, comprised two towers (1 and 2) of 125 m (410 ft) and 94 m (308 ft) respectively, and a mixed-use centre under an undulating roof. 'Fourth Grace 1 Cullinan', proposed by Edward Cullinan Architects, comprised two 135 m (443 ft) mixed use buildings, and a globe-shaped 1000-seat theatre. 'Fourth Grace Towers', a more conceptual design from architect firm Alsop, comprised a Zoomorphic style 118.50 m (389 ft) tower with residential, office and retail space, and a balloon-shaped structure (“the Cloud”) containing the museum site. Public consultation found the Cullinan design to be the favourite, while the Alsop design was the least popular amongst the public and in a survey of architects. Despite this, Alsop's 'Cloud' was the winning entry. However, it was beset with difficulties, and was cancelled in 2004 due to spiralling costs. Currently, it has been relocated to Toronto, Canada, where preliminary construction work is being undertaken. All ideas were eventually scrapped in favour of the Mann Island Development, comprising the new Museum of Liverpool, the Liverpool Canal Link, and three modernist mixed-use private enterprise blocks, the Mann Island Buildings.