Albion House, Liverpool

Albion House

Location in Liverpool
General information
Type	Office Building
Location	Liverpool, England
Coordinates	53°24′17″N 2°59′33″W / 53.4046°N 2.9925°W / 53.4046; -2.9925
Construction started	1896
Completed	1898
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Richard Norman Shaw James Francis Doyle

Albion House (also known as "30 James Street" or the White Star Building) is a Grade II* listed building located in Liverpool, England. It was constructed between 1896 and 1898 and is positioned on the corner of James Street and The Strand across from the Pier Head.

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History

Designed by architects Richard Norman Shaw and J. Francis Doyle, it was built for the Ismay, Imrie and Company shipping company, which later became the White Star Line. After White Star merged with Royal Mail Line, the headquarters remained at Albion House until 1934, at which time the British Government forced the merger of Cunard Line and White Star Line. The building is situated on the corner of The Strand and James Street. The facade is constructed from white Portland stone and red brick. In 1912, when news of the disaster of the Titanic reached the offices, the officials were too afraid to leave the building, and instead read the names of the deceased from the balcony. During the Second World War, the gable was damaged and was later rebuilt in the late 1940s.^{[citation needed]}

After many years being vacant, in 2014 the building was converted into a Titanic-themed hotel known as 30 James Street.^[1]

Architecture

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.^{[citation needed]}

Albion House is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.^[2]