Albion House, Liverpool

Albion House, also called "30 James Street" or the White Star Building, is an important old building in Liverpool, England. It was built between 1896 and 1898. You can find it on the corner of James Street and The Strand, right across from the Pier Head. The building is special and protected, which is why it is called a Grade II* listed building.

History

Albion House was designed by architects Richard Norman Shaw and J. Francis Doyle for the Ismay, Imrie and Company shipping company, which later became the White Star Line. After White Star merged with the Royal Mail Line, the headquarters stayed at Albion House until 1934. The building is located on the corner of The Strand and James Street and has a facade made from white Portland stone and red brick.

In 2014, the building was turned into a Titanic-themed hotel called 30 James Street.

Architecture

The design of Albion House is very similar to another building made by the same architect in 1887, called the former New Scotland Yard in London. In the 1980s, the offices inside Albion House had beautiful desks made of fine wood. Near the entrance on James Street, there is a special mosaic on the floor showing South America. Inside, close to the same entrance, there used to be a wooden memorial remembering the staff members who served and did not return from the war from 1914 to 1918.

Albion House is listed as an important building and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.