Central Library

The Liverpool Central Library is identified by a stark contrast between its weathered nineteenth century stone facade and the sweeping, modern glass rotunda that pulls inward from the street. This building houses the archives of a city built on maritime trade, including records that survived the devastation of the nineteen forty-one May Blitz. When fire tore through the Picton Reading Room during those air raids, staff members formed human chains to pass rare books out to safety while the roof burned above them.