St George's Hall

St George's Hall stands opposite Liverpool Lime Street station in England and is one of the finest Greek Revival buildings in Europe. Designed by the young architect Harvey Lonsdale Elmes and opened in 1854, it was completed after his death by Charles Cockerell, and combines a concert hall and Law Courts under one monumental colonnaded roof. The Great Hall has a barrel-vaulted ceiling and a Minton tile floor of more than 30,000 tiles, normally covered to protect it and revealed only on selected days. The Concert Room is an oval chamber with rich Victorian decoration. Beneath the building, the Victorian courts and the original cells, where prisoners were held before trial, are visited on guided tours, with exhibits on the people who passed through them. Outside, St George's Plateau is a large open space that hosts events, a cenotaph and statues, and its steps are a popular place to sit with a view over the city centre. Visitors can walk the exterior and plateau at any time, but interior access is limited to heritage tours and events on selected days, so booking or checking ahead is advisable. A visit usually lasts 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Weekends when the hall is open are the best time to see the interior, while the plateau is best photographed from the steps of Lime Street Station, which frames the full colonnade, or from the plaza at golden hour. The building is a short walk from the Walker Art Gallery, World Museum and Central Library on William Brown Street, making it easy to combine with a museum day. Ticket prices for tours and exhibitions are modest, and the building is free to view from outside.