Liverpool - Albert Dock Village - Dennis postcard c.1980s just after renovation

• • Postcard

     

  • Picture / Image:  Albert Dock Village, Liverpool [this must have been issued not long after the redevelopment in the 1980s]
  • Publisher:  Dennis, L0702L
  • Postally used:  no
  • Stamp:  n/a
  • Postmark(s): n/a
  • Sent to:  n/a
  • Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood. As a result, it was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world.[1]

At the time of its construction the Albert Dock was considered a revolutionary docking system because ships were loaded and unloaded directly from/to the warehouses. Two years after it opened it was modified to feature the world's first hydraulic cranes.[2] Due to its open yet secure design, the Albert Dock became a popular store for valuable cargoes such as brandy, cotton, tea, silk, tobacco, ivory and sugar. However, despite the Albert Dock's advanced design, the rapid development of shipping technology meant that within 50 years, larger, more open docks were required, although it remained a valuable store for cargo.

During the Second World War, the Albert Dock was requisitioned by the Admiralty serving as a base for boats of the British Atlantic Fleet. The complex was damaged during air raids on Liverpool, notably during the May Blitz of 1941. In the aftermath of the war, the financial problems of the owners and the general decline of docking in the city meant that the future of the Albert Dock was uncertain. Numerous plans were developed for the re-use of the buildings but none came to fruition and in 1972 the dock was finally closed. Having lain derelict for nearly ten years, the redevelopment of the dock began in 1981, when the Merseyside Development Corporation was set up, with the Albert Dock being officially re-opened in 1984.

Today the Albert Dock is a major tourist attraction in the city and the most visited multi-use attraction in the United Kingdom, outside of London.[3] It is a vital component of Liverpool's UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City and the docking complex and warehouses also comprise the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK.[4]

....

The creation of the Merseyside Development Corporation (MDC) in 1981 was part of a new initiative launched by the then Conservativegovernment that earmarked the regeneration of some 800 acres (3.2 km2) of Liverpool's south docks, by using public sector investment to create infrastructure within an area that could then in turn be used to attract private sector investment. Thus the MDC was not directly responsible for regeneration programmes but rather acted as a spearhead, guiding the development process. Upon its formation it immediately created an initial strategy for the area placing a high priority on restoring those buildings that could be restored & demolishing the rest, restoring a water regime within the dock system (including the removal of up to 40 ft (12 m) of silt) and general environmental landscaping. As part of the strategy two flagship schemes were set up: the redevelopment of a site in Otterspool for the International Garden Festival and the regeneration of the Albert Dock.[28]

In 1982 the MDC entered into negotiations with London-based developers Arrowcroft in order to secure much needed private sector investment. On a visit to the site, Arrowcroft's chairman Leonard Eppel spoke of how the buildings ""talked to him"" and upon his return to London set about persuading the company's board to take on the project.[29] In September 1983 a deal was signed between Arrowcroft plc and the MDC leading to the creation of the Albert Dock Company, which could now start the process of regenerating the Albert Dock.[30]

One of the first priorities of the regeneration was the restoration of the dock system, which had deteriorated rapidly since the Brunswick Dock gates had been left open. Contaminated silt was removed from the dock basin, dock gates were replaced & bridges restored, whilst the dock walls were repaired.[31] The Albert Dock company appointed Tarmac to renovate the dock's vast warehouses and repair war time bomb damage.[32] Structural surveys carried out by the MDC found the brickwork and foundations to be in very good condition and it was considered a testament to the strict build quality of Hartley's design that a building almost 150 years old was still in such good condition.[31]

Development within the Albert Dock was rapid and the newly renovated Edward Pavilion (formerly north east stack) was ready in time for the 1984 Cutty Sark tall ships race. The race was a big success for the city with over one million visitors into Liverpool over a period of four days, of which 160,000 visited the Albert Dock. In total it is estimated that the two flagship regeneration schemes of the MDC, the tall ships race and International Garden Festival, attracted over 3.5 million visitors to Liverpool in 1984. Also completed in 1984 was the renovation of the dock traffic office, which was fitted out and leased to Granada Television.[33]

Spurred by the success of the tall ships race and the International Garden Festival, Arrowcroft pushed on with the Albert Dock's renovation. With the Edward Pavilion refurbishment a success soon the company started on the Britannia and Atlantic pavilions (formerly the south and south east stacks), the latter of which required major structural repairs because of bomb damage it received during World War II. In 1986 the Merseyside Maritime Museum completed its move into the Albert Dock, having moved some exhibitions into the building in 1984. The museum, developed by Merseyside County Council had previously been located in the pilotage building and a salvage shed nearby.[30] Also in 1986 work began on the largest of the dock warehouses, the Colonnades (formerly west stack). Ground floor shops were created with office space on the mezzanine level and apartments on the remaining floors. The first 37 of these apartments were completed by 1988 and the speed with which they sold was likened to 'sales day at Harrods'.[34]

The Albert Dock was officially re-opened in 1988 by The Prince of Wales,[35] the great-great-great-grandson of Prince Albert, the man who had originally opened the docks.[36] It was timed to coincide with the opening of the newly finished Tate Liverpool, which was dubbed the 'Tate of the north' and at the time the only one outside of London.[37] The decision to locate a Tate gallery in Liverpool was seen as a major success for the city, as it made Liverpool home to the National Collection of modern art in the North of England.[38]

In 1988 ITV's new morning television show This Morning, hosted by Richard and Judy, began broadcasting from a studio inside the Albert Dock. As part of the show weather presenter Fred Talbot used a floating map of the British Isles to report the forecast.[39] Two years later in 1990 The Beatles Story museum opened, the only Beatles themed visitor attraction in Britain, providing yet another draw to the Albert Dock.[35]

Throughout the 1990s development continued including a new hotel and the conversion of vacant space for use by larger companies such as Telewest (Now Virgin Media).[40] Finally in 2003, some 22 years after the renovation of the Albert Dock started, the last remaining undeveloped space was brought into use with the opening of a new Premier Lodge hotel in the Britannia Pavilion.[35]