Museum of Liverpool

Not to be confused with World Museum.

Museum of Liverpool
Museum of Liverpool is located in Liverpool
Museum of Liverpool
Location in Liverpool
Museum of Liverpool is located in Merseyside
Museum of Liverpool
Location in Merseyside
Established2011
LocationPier Head, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates53°24′11″N 2°59′44″W / 53.4031°N 2.9956°W / 53.4031; -2.9956
Visitors956,918 (2019)[1]
Websitehttp://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/

The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened in 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum of Liverpool Life. The museum is housed in a new purpose-built building on the Mann Island site at the Pier Head.

History

[edit]
Further information: Museum of Liverpool Life

The museum, which was designed by architects 3XN and engineers Buro Happold and built by Galliford Try[2] at cost of £72 million, provides 8,000 square metres of exhibition space, housing more than 6,000 objects.[3] It has flexible spaces that regularly change to enable National Museums Liverpool to show more of their collections. It was opened to the public on 19 June 2011.[4] in January and February 2017, the museum was closed for two months for essential works .[5]

From 10 to 12 December 2021, the museum hosted the G7 summit of foreign ministers.[6]

Core themes

[edit]
The centrally located spiral staircase within the museum
A view of Pier Head from The People's Republic gallery

The museum displays are divided into four main themes: The Great Port, Global City, People's Republic, and Wondrous Place, located in four large gallery spaces. On the ground floor, displays look at the city's urban and technological evolution, both local and national, including the Industrial Revolution and the changes in the British Empire, and how these changes have impacted the city's economic development. The upper floor looks at Liverpool's particular and strong identity through examining the social history of the city, from settlement in the area from Neolithic times to the present day, migration, and the various communities and cultures which contribute to the city's diversity.[7]

The museum also features: Little Liverpool, a gallery for children under six; History Detectives, an interactive archaeology and history resource centre; a 180-seat theatre for community and audio-visual performances and meeting facilities.[7] It also has a gallery called "City Soldiers" which tells the story of the King's Regiment.[8] In February 2007, while the museum was under construction, steam locomotive Lion, star of the film The Titfield Thunderbolt, was moved by road from Manchester where it had been on loan, to Liverpool and eventually placed in the new museum.[9]

Exhibitions

[edit]
Canning Half-Tide Dock

Exhibits from the entirety of National Museums Liverpool's collections are used for the Museum of Liverpool's displays. They tell the story of the city through items from collections of costume and decorative art, entomological and botanical collections and objects representing social and urban history, as well as oral testimonies, archaeological material and photographic archives.[7] From September to November 2012 the museum staged the Liverpool Love exhibition, in which well known personalities such as Yoko Ono, Sir Peter Blake and Noel Fielding celebrated the city of Liverpool.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Museum of Liverpool gets iconic structure". New Steel Construction. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Museum of Liverpool facts and figures". National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Museum of Liverpool opens to the public". BBC News. 19 July 2011.
  5. ^ Jones, Catherine (14 November 2016). "Museum of Liverpool to close for 'essential work'". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Liverpool G7 summit 'a pretty big deal' for city". BBC News. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Themes and displays in the new museum". National Museums Liverpool. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  8. ^ "City Soldiers". Museum of Liverpool. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Train leaves city - by road!". Manchester Evening News. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  10. ^ "Noel Fielding, Yoko Ono and other artists show Liverpool Love" (Slideshow). BBC News. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Museum of Liverpool.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Museum_of_Liverpool&oldid=1243363377"