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The Museum of Liverpool in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
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 ...
, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum of Liverpool Life. The museum is housed in a new purpose-built building on the
Mann Island Mann Island is a small area in Liverpool, England. It lies on the waterfront next to the River Mersey between the Albert Dock to the south and the Pier Head to the north. History Mann Island was formed in the 18th and 19th centuries as par ...
site at the Pier Head.


History

The museum, which was designed by architects
3XN 3XN is a Danish architectural practice with head office in Copenhagen. History The company was founded in Århus in 1986 as Nielsen, Nielsen & Nielsen (later 3 X Nielsen) by Kim Herforth Nielsen, Lars Frank Nielsen and Hans Peter Svendler Niels ...
and engineers
Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...
and built by
Galliford Try Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Leicester, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916. Formerly involved in house-build ...
at cost of £72 million, provides 8,000 square metres of exhibition space, housing more than 6,000 objects. It has flexible spaces that regularly change to enable National Museums Liverpool to show more of their collections. It was opened to the public on 19 June 2011. in January and February 2017, the museum was closed for two months for essential works . From 10 to 12 December 2021, the museum hosted the G7 summit of foreign ministers.


Core themes

The museum displays are divided into four main themes: The Great Port, Global City, People's Republic, and Wondrous Place, located in four large gallery spaces. On the ground floor, displays look at the city's urban and technological evolution, both local and national, including the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and the changes in the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, and how these changes have impacted the city's economic development. The upper floor looks at Liverpool's particular and strong identity through examining the social history of the city, from settlement in the area from
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
times to the present day, migration, and the various communities and cultures which contribute to the city's diversity. The museum also features: Little Liverpool, a gallery for children under six; History Detectives, an interactive archaeology and history resource centre; a 180-seat theatre for community and audio-visual performances and meeting facilities. It also has a gallery called "City Soldiers" which tells the story of the King's Regiment. In February 2007, while the museum was under construction, steam locomotive ''
Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...
'', star of the film '' The Titfield Thunderbolt'', was moved by road from
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
where it had been on loan, to Liverpool and eventually placed in the new museum.


Exhibitions

Exhibits from the entirety of National Museums Liverpool's collections are used for the Museum of Liverpool's displays. They tell the story of the city through items from collections of costume and decorative art, entomological and
botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
collections and objects representing
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
and urban history, as well as oral testimonies,
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
material and photographic archives. From September to November 2012 the museum staged the Liverpool Love exhibition, in which well known personalities such as
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
, Sir Peter Blake and
Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...
celebrated the city of Liverpool.


References


External links


Museum of LiverpoolNational Museums Liverpool
{{authority control Museums established in 2011 National Museums Liverpool History museums in Merseyside Art museums and galleries in Merseyside Local museums in Merseyside Museums in Liverpool Museum of Liverpool