Waterstones

The building housing the Waterstones on College Lane features an ornate, terracotta facade covered in detailed carvings of cherubs, flowers, and scrolled lettering. Before it became a bookstore, this site functioned as the headquarters for the Liverpool Savings Bank. Opened in nineteen oh one, the architects designed the space with high ceilings and heavy mahogany fixtures to project financial stability. The bank eventually moved out, and book lovers moved in, preserving the polished counters where clerks once tallied deposits for the city.