Liverpool Photo Gallery - Royal Liver Building Tour

The Royal Liver Building was one of the first buildings in the world to use reinforced concrete in its construction and was the tallest building on the continent at the time. It opened in 1911 as headquarters of Royal Liver Assurance, and is still an office building today even though that company no longer exists. To visit the interiors, you need to book a tour with a pre-selected timeslot in advance. For train passengers, you can get 20% off with your ticket. After checking into your tour, you first enter an exhibition to learn a bit more about this iconic building. Designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, who was born across the river in Birkenhead, he was influenced by the Ingalls Building in Cincinnati, which was built just a few years earlier. The tour begins with an elevator ride up to an outdoor area. This isn't the top of the building yet, but offers a decent view of the surrounding areas. After the initial views, we were taken inside the building, up a few floors by stairs, into a large hollow space where the clock mechanisms are placed. We're right behind the clock faces, and an audio visual experience shows off how they work. Surprisingly, the actual machinery is tiny and barely occupies this huge space. The final stop on the tour is the outdoor balcony on the 15th floor for a panoramic view of the city and the building's architectural features, including the Liver birds Bella and Bertie. No, these are not seagulls. The Liver bird is a mythical creature thought to have a history going back to 1207 when Liverpool was registered as a borough, and a unique corporate seal was needed. There is a legend that the pair protect the city. Bella looks out to the ocean from the building to protect the sailors while Bertie looks into the city to protect their families. They face away from each other to prevent them from flying off together, because that would spell the end. The Mersey will burst its banks and destroy the city.