Places of worship
The thousands of migrants and sailors passing through Liverpool resulted in a religious diversity that is still apparent today. This is reflected in the equally diverse collection of religious buildings, and two Christian cathedrals.
The parish church of Liverpool is the Anglican Our Lady and St Nicholas, colloquially known as "the sailors church", which has existed near the waterfront since 1257. It regularly plays host to Catholic masses. Other notable churches include the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas (built in the Neo-Byzantine architecture style), and the Gustav Adolfus Kyrka (the Swedish Seamen's Church, reminiscent of Nordic styles).
Liverpool's wealth as a port city enabled the construction of two enormous cathedrals, both dating from the 20th century. The Anglican Cathedral which was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and plays host to the annual Liverpool Shakespeare Festival, has one of the longest naves, largest organs and heaviest and highest peals of bells in the world. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, on Mount Pleasant next to Liverpool Science Park was initially planned to be even larger. Of Sir Edwin Lutyens' original design, only the crypt was completed. The cathedral was eventually built to a simpler design by Sir Frederick Gibberd; while this is on a smaller scale than Lutyens' original design, it still manages to incorporate the largest panel of stained glass in the world. Appropriately enough, the road running between the two cathedrals is called Hope Street. The cathedral is colloquially referred to as "Paddy's Wigwam" due to its shape and the vast number of Irish men who worked on its construction and are living in the area.
Liverpool contains several synagogues, of which the Grade I listed Moorish Revival Princes Road Synagogue is architecturally the most notable. Princes road is widely considered to be the most magnificent of Britain's Moorish Revival synagogues and one of the finest buildings in Liverpool. Liverpool has a thriving Jewish community with a further 2 Synagogues, one in the Greenbank Park area of L17 and a second in the Childwall district of the city where a significant Jewish community reside. Liverpool has had a Jewish community since the mid-18th century. The current Jewish population of Liverpool is around 3000.
Liverpool also has an increasing Hindu community, with a Mandir on Edge Lane; the Radha Krishna Hindu Temple from the Hindu Cultural Organisation based there. The current Hindu population in Liverpool is about 1147. Liverpool also has the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in L15.
The city had one of the earliest mosques in Britain, founded in 1887 by William Abdullah Quilliam, a lawyer who had converted to Islam. This mosque, however, no longer exists. Plans have been ongoing to re-convert the building where the mosque once stood into a museum. Currently there are three mosques in Liverpool: the largest and main one, Al-Rahma mosque, in the Toxteth area of the city and a mosque recently opened in the Mossley Hill district of the city. The third mosque was also recently opened in Toxteth and is on Granby Street.
Other notable buildings and main museums
Castle Street Liverpool
The area around William Brown Street has been labeled the city's 'Cultural Quarter', owing to the presence of the William Brown Library, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum Liverpool, just three of Liverpool's neo-classical buildings. Nearby is St George's Hall, perhaps the most impressive of these neo-classical buildings. It was built to serve a variety of civic functions, including both as a concert hall and as the city's law courts. Its doors, inscribed "S.P.Q.L." (Latin senatus populusque Liverpudliensis—"the senate and people of Liverpool"), as well as its grand architecture proclaim the municipal pride and ambition of the city in the mid-nineteenth century. Also in this area are Wellington's Column and the Steble Fountain.
Liverpool's Town Hall dates from 1754 and has an interior which is well-regarded architecturally. The city's stock exchange and financial district are set immediately behind this building, and show how closely government and commerce were tied in the city's development.
At 40 storeys, West Tower is Liverpool's tallest building.
The Adelphi Hotel on Ranelagh Street is the most famous hotel in Liverpool and was very popular in the days when luxury liners crossed the Atlantic when it was described as the great Cunard liner stuck in the middle of the city. A 'fly-on-the-wall' TV documentary series was made on it and its staff.
The Atlantic Tower hotel near pier head was designed to resemble the prow of a ship to reflect Liverpool's maritime history.
The term Red Brick University, applied to British universities dating from a similar period, was inspired by the University of Liverpool's Victoria Building, noted for its clock tower.
Some of Liverpool's landmarks are better known for their oddness rather than for their role. The Williamson Tunnels are architecturally unique as being the largest underground folly in the world. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms are noteworthy for their ornate Victorian toilets, which have become a tourist attraction in their own right.
On Renshaw Street there is the new alternative shopping centre Grand Central Hall—which has not only fine external architecture but also has much to offer inside, such as the metalwork and ceiling decoration of the Ground floor and the fantastic domed ceiling of Roscoe Hall. It was originally built in 1905, under the guidance of the Methodist Church, as a 2,000-seat cinema. The original organ of Roscoe Hall still remains and is a listed item itself, although recent shop additions to the hall have obscured the view somewhat.
In the south of the city, the art deco former terminal building of Speke Airport, used from the 1930s to 1986, has been adapted for use as a hotel, and is now the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The terraces from which fans welcomed home The Beatles have been preserved.
Everton water tower is a Grade II listed building.
Transport
Mersey crossings
There are three tunnels under the River Mersey: one railway tunnel, the Mersey Railway Tunnel; and two road tunnels, Queensway Tunnel and Kingsway Tunnel.
The Mersey Ferry continues to provide an important link between Liverpool and the Wirral, as well as a tourist attraction. Made famous by the song Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers, the song is now played on the ferryboats themselves every time they prepare to dock at Liverpool after a tourist cruise.
The Mersey is crossed upstream from Liverpool at Runcorn and Widnes, by the Silver Jubilee Bridge (usually known simply as the "Runcorn Bridge") and the Runcorn Railway Bridge.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Built between 1770 and 1816 the Leeds and Liverpool Canal links Liverpool and the Mersey to Leeds and the River Aire. Its terminus had been at Old Hall Street, Pall Mall, Chisenhale Street, but that section now ends at Eldonian Village. A flight of locks just north of there takes the canal down to Stanley Dock, famous for the Tobacco Warehouse, and on to the main dock system.
A new link across the front of the Pier Head buildings will link the northern docks to the Albert Dock is presently under construction, with the plan being to open it during Liverpool's Capital of Culture Year of 2008.
CULTURE
Liverpool is internationally known as a cultural centre, with a particularly rich history in popular music (most notably The Beatles), performing and visual arts. In 2003, Liverpool was named a European Capital of Culture for 2008, the other site being Stavanger, Norway. A series of cultural events during 2003-9 is planned, peaking in 2008.
Music
Main article: music of Liverpool
Liverpool has a rich history of musical innovation, including the sea shanty, Merseybeat and The Beatles.
Poetry
During the late 1960s the city became well-known for the Liverpool poets, of whom Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri are among the best known. The anthology The Mersey Sound, by Henri, McGough and Brian Patten, has sold over 500,000 copies since first being published in 1967.
Theatre and Performing Arts
Liverpool has a strong history of performing arts which is reflected in its annual theatrical highlight The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival which takes place inside Liverpool Cathedral and in the adjacent historic St James' Gardens every summer, and in the number of theatres in the city, including the Empire, Everyman, Neptune, Royal Court and Unity Theatres, and the Liverpool Playhouse. The Everyman theatre, Unity Theatre and Playhouse theatre all run their own theatre company.
A flourishing orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, performs in its own home, the Philharmonic Hall. The city also features a youth orchestra.
Since the 1960s, Liverpool has been famous for its thriving music scene.
Visual arts
Liverpool has long had a reputation in the visual arts. Painter George Stubbs was born in the city in 1724. Pre-Raphaelites are among the important paintings in the Walker Art Gallery. Sudley House contains another major collection of pre 20th century art. Liverpool has more galleries and national museums than any other city in the United Kingdom apart from London. The Tate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the north of England, and was until the opening of Tate Modern the largest exhibition space dedicated to modern art in the United Kingdom. The FACT centre hosts touring multimedia exhibitions.
The Liverpool Biennial is a festival of arts held (as the name implies) every two years. The festival generally runs from mid-September to late November and comprises three main sections; the International, The Independents and New Contemporaries although fringe events are timed to coincide. It was during this event in 2004 that Yoko Ono's work "My mother is beautiful" caused widespread public protest by exhibiting photographs of a naked woman's pubic area on the main shopping street. Despite protests the work remained in place.
In 2008, Liverpool University's Victoria Building was re-opened as a public art gallery and museum to display the University's artwork and historical collections, including the second-largest display of art by Audubon outside the US. The Ceri Hand Gallery also opened in 2008, presenting contemporary art
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