Titanic Themed Plan For Liverpool’s Albion House

Once the headquarters of the esteemed White Star Line, operators of the cruise liner Titanic which sank in 1912, Albion House in Liverpool, which is currently disused, may be about to enter a new phase of its illustrious life that will lean heavily on its historic connections.

Albion House - part of Liverpool's history

There are plans being discussed that could lead to the Grade II listed building in The Strand being converted into a Titanic themed hotel. Developers Signature Living have acquired the building and hope to develop it as an apartment hotel, with work possibly beginning as early as October if planning permission is granted by the council.

The developer’s plan is to create a 350-bed hotel with a gym, bar and restaurant. It would not be the first hotel in Liverpool to follow this theme as the city already has a floating Titanic-themed hotel moored in Albert Dock.

Lawrence Kenwright of Signature Living said “We have just put in the planning application and the council have been amazing, really dynamic at how they have gone at things. It could take up to 13 weeks (for permission) but we hope to begin work in October and have the first part of the hotel open by April next year.

“I think it was the first steel constructed building in Liverpool. They have amazing steel columns with massive rivets which were done by the same engineers who built the Titanic. It looks like the inside of a ship. We want to expose them and bring them into the apartments. I think a lot of people would like to see that.”

Albion House is constructed from Portland stone and red brick, leading it to be nicknamed the “streaky bacon” building.

It was from this building that the Titanic and her sister ships Olympic and Britannic first came to fruition, where the plans were conceived and they were registered. From the balconies, White Star clerks, who would have been fearful of reprisals, shouted the latest news about the Titanic’s fate after her collision with an iceberg on April 15, 1912, passing news on to her crew’s relatives.

After White Star’s merger with Cunard Line, the building was bought by Pacific Steam Navigation, which installed a fine mosaic foyer floor map of South America.

                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion_House,_Liverpool