History Of The Municipal Building On Dale Street — Former Liverpool Council Offices To A Luxury Hotel

Peter Eric Lang
6 days ago
2 min read

CITY OF LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.

The History Of The Municipal Building On Dale Street — From Former 19th Century Liverpool Corporation Offices To A 21st Century Luxury Hotel

Municipal Building on Dale Street in Liverpool (Credit: Original Content created by The Liverpudlian Team).

The Municipal Building on Dale Street was originally built as council offices for Liverpool Corporation, from 1862 to 1968.

It was designed by John Weightman, with modifications to his original designs by Edward Robert Robson (also known as ER Robson), after Weightman retired during the building's construction.

Whilst it could be broadly classified as Italianate Renaissance, particularly, the Mannerism style of the 1500s, The Municipal is another beautiful example in the Liverpool City Region of Victorian Eclecticism, though without the neccessarily explicit telltale signs that the likes of an Alfred Waterhouse building may contain.

The Municipal also blends elements of English Gothic and French influences, with the dominant High Renaissance style evidenced by its effortless sophistication, and almost 'unnecessary' elegencace, in a similar strand almost to that of 'art for art's sake'.

The Municipal Building was granted Grade II* Listed Status in 1966, with this status being maintained to this day by Historic England. Grade II* is the third of the three tiers in the British Grading System for the cultural and historical significance of buildings that surround our everyday lives.

It was owned and operated as a City Council office until 2017, when it was purchased and converted into a luxury hotel, The Municipal Hotel & Spa, which forms part of the MGallery Collection, by Singaporean development company, Fragrance Group.