The Albert Dock Traffic Office is a 19th-century

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building located in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. As part of a series of other buildings it makes up part of the

Albert Dock Albert Dock may refer to: *Albert Dock, Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England *Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, a dock and warehouse system in Liverpool, England *Royal Albert Dock, London The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal ...

. Formally the former home of

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

the building is now owned by

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

. In 2021 it was announced the building would be renamed to the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building.

History

Completed in 1847 by architect Phillip Hardwick the building was initially designed for use within the then newly built Albert Dock which had opened just a year prior. Failing profitability of the dock resulted in its closure post World War Two however a regeneration scheme during the 1980s saw the complex refurbished and occupied by

. After Granada relocated to neighbouring Manchester the building used briefly used by television show This Morning before buying sold on as part of a cost-cutting measure. In 2008 the building was sold to the

International Slavery Museum The International Slavery Museum is a museum located in Liverpool, England that focuses on the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. The museum which forms part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, consists of three main galleries ...

and now display some of the museum's exhibitions.

Architecture

Set across three stories; the third of which added a year after it completion, the building is of red brick with 5 x 7 bay windows. The buildings

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

features a Tuscan

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

with four columns constructed of cast iron.

References

{{coord, 53.4015, -2.9921, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool Buildings and structures completed in 1847