Description

The following building shall be added:

SJ 3590 NW LIVERPOOL LIME STREET

50/1362 The Empire Theatre

GV II

Theatre. Brier 1924-5 for Moss's Empires Ltd; designed by W & T R Milburn. Carving
and auditorium ornament by E 0 Griffiths of Liverpool. Steel frame clad in Portland
stone (to front) and brick. Roof material not visible. Foyer and stairs; very wide
auditorium (with balcony) designed to seat an audience of 2,450. Free neo-Classical
style. Front: 1:3:1 bays, the central bays with Attic courses over dentilled
cornice; paired and single Ionic columns in antis (1:2:2:1) with windows between set
in bold aedicules and with octagonal openings above. 1st floor cornice.
Ground-floor with 3-light windows over entrances to foyer. Steel canopy with
medallions and guilloche decorative bands. Central bays (except Attic) rusticated.
Side bays lower with parapets; 1st floor windows in architraves flanked by shallow
pilasters; 1st floor cornice. Door and window in shallow recess. Stone cladding
returns one bay to either side with similar fenestration. Many altered window
openings to rear and sides (which are not designed to be seen). Interior: seating
raked up to sides as well as to rear to maximise visibility. Decoration in free
'Louis XVI' style: coved ceiling with deep lateral arches and elaborately treated
fan vaults (concealing lights) to front angles of auditorium; all-over decoration to
the nodding praesceneum arch, and to side walk of orchestra pit. Many curious
decorative features including carved elephant caryatids. The theatre was noted for
its advanced planning; the long rows of seats sloping up on either end were designed
to heighten a sense of audience participation as well as improving sight lines
towards the stage.

Refs include The Builder, April 1925.

Listing NGR: SJ3506790665

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Liverpool Empire Theatre at Wikipedia
• Liverpool Empire Theatre official website
• Wikidata Q6658420

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record