The Cunard Building

Susie Stubbs
Cunard Building, Liverpool, image courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts
Image courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts

The 1916 Cunard Building is a different beast to the other Graces, its interior once a head office and a class-segregated waiting room for those waiting to use Cunard’s transatlantic steamers. Identity and migration and nationalism pull tightly across its grand Portland Stone frontage; even its restrained classical façade screams stiff upper lip, chaps. Yet now it is a glorified office block, an entire floor empty as the recession nips at its River Mersey-cooled heels. Closed for public access, but nevertheless a worthwhile stop on a walking tour.

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Admission Charges

Free

Services and Facilities

Exhibition space

What's on near The Cunard Building

Eleanor Rees
LiteratureLiverpool
Eleanor Rees at Open Eye Gallery Liverpool

Launching her shiny new volume of selected poems in Liverpool, where much of it was dreamed up, Eleanor Rees will be reading live and also chatting about the production.

free entry
DaDaFest International 40 at Bluecoat
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
DaDaFest International 40

Celebrating 40 years of groundbreaking disability and Deaf arts, DaDaFest returns for 2025 with a bold and unapologetic programme.

free entry
Two people sitting playing a video game.
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
Art Plays Games at FACT

Art Plays Games is a new show at FACT, celebrating games created by digital artists and independent video game developers.

free entry

Where to go near The Cunard Building

Waterfront
Museum
The British Music Experience

It’s a discotheque for the senses, an incredible collection of artefacts and memorabilia, audio guides, music and stories. There are iconic costumes worn by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, the Spice Girls and Adam Ant, and musical instruments played by some of the world’s most renowned artists from Noel Gallagher to the Sex Pistols.

Waterfront
Café or Coffee Shop
Royal Liver Building

An iconic landmark, the Royal Liver Building was one of the first multi-storey buildings made using a steel-reinforced concrete structure.

Pier Head
Liverpool
Tourist Attraction
Pier Head

Head to the Pier Head for Liverpool’s most iconic buildings on the waterfront.

Afternoon tea at Oh Me Oh My
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Oh Me Oh My

A secret space and tea room, Oh Me Oh My lives in the stunning surrounds of Liverpool’s West Africa House. We take a look.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Silk Rd

Silk Rd Tapas serves up delicious Mediterranean small plates, named after the Silk Route, an ancient network of trade routes, bringing spices and silks.

City Centre
Restaurant
Etsu

What Etsu sushi restaurant in Liverpool lacks in marketing skills, it more than makes up for in Japanese cuisine.

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