Nerve 10 - Grand Central Hall

Grand Central Hall

Central Hall was designed by architects Bradshaw and Gass and opened on the 5th December 1905. Sir Henry H. Fowler opened the large hall with the lord mayor present. It was built by the Liverpool Methodist Mission to replace premises on Mount Pleasant.

As well as housing the Methodist Mission, on the 14th December 1908 it opened as the New Century Picture Hall, one of Liverpool's first cinemas. The Central Hall could hold four thousand people and was the second largest place to show films in Liverpool.

The Liverpool Echo dated 28th October 1922 contained an explanation for the mixing of religious services with cinema shows by the Reverend T. A. Turney:

"…They were designed to introduce "down-and-outers" to the mission. Our prices of admission are 3d and 5d. We have an organ recital, a hymn, a short prayer, and then a concert followed by one long picture…the concerts and services are designed for those whom others might term "undesirables", and a great deal of good is being done."

In 1933 the old Philharmonic Hall was destroyed by fire, and until 1939 the Liverpool Philharmonic played at Central Hall when the new Philharmonic Hall was opened. My personal memory of concerts at Central Hall is when I saw Gil Scott-Heron perform there in the late 1980s, a very memorable performance it was too.

In May 1990 the Methodists put the hall up for sale as the cost of upkeep had become too expensive. Major restoration took place and it reopened in November 1998 as the Barcelona Bar and Grand Central Hall nightclub.
In August 2006 many of the traders made homeless from Quiggins moved in and Grand Central Hall began a new lease of life as the biggest alternative shopping experience in Liverpool. Covering four floors it houses many independent traders both from Quiggins and new ventures.

So if you miss Quiggins or are just after something different, come on down, explore and support the many different traders that make up the alternative shopping experience of Grand Central Hall.

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Sorry Comments Closed

Comment left by Paul Fleming on 27th June, 2008 at 23:46
Nearly 2 years now we have been in Grand Central Hall...Paul http://www.liverpoolcomicshop.co.uk http://www.grandcentralhall.com

Comment left by Paul on 27th June, 2008 at 23:47
<a href="http://www.liverpoolcomicshop.co.uk">Liverpool Comic Shop</a>

Comment left by Louise Sinclair-Jones on 25th April, 2011 at 7:18
Is there a website for Quiggins at Grand Central?

Comments are closed on this article