Museum of Liverpool on the road
This object is no longer at BBC Radio Merseyside but can now be seen at Merseyside Maritime Museum as part of the Magical History Tour exhibition.
While the new Museum of Liverpool is being built, we are touring some of its fantastic collections ‘on the road’. You can now see some extraordinary and iconic items on display at unexpected venues across the city. See further details on the Museum of Liverpool on the road homepage.
Hanover Street, Liverpool
The Liver Bird sculpture was on display in the entrance foyer of BBC Radio Merseyside.
This Liver Bird finial, a symbol of Liverpool, took pride of place on the very top of the original St John's Market building in Liverpool. The building, which opened in 1822, was one of the first large scale covered markets. The ornate interior of the market was divided into five shopping avenues, corresponding to different food groups, and at night was lit by gas.
In 1964 the market was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the city centre to make way for St John's Shopping Centre.
The Liver Bird was saved and kindly donated to National Museums Liverpool's collections. After over 100 years of being exposed to Liverpool's industry it was greatly in need of expert cleaning by our sculpture conservators, so it is very appropriate that it went on display at the National Conservation Centre from 16 November 2006 to 30 January 2007, before going 'on the road' again and moving to BBC Radio Merseyside. It can now be seen in the Magical History Tour exhibition at Merseyside Maritime Museum.
The Liver Bird at the National Conservation Centre, where it was previously on display