Philharmonic Hall

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall stands on Hope Street in the city’s cultural quarter. It is the third concert hall on the site, replacing an 1849 building destroyed by fire in 1933. The present hall opened in 1939 and is Grade II* listed. It houses the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, founded in 1840. The architect Herbert J. Rowse designed it in Streamline Moderne style. The hall’s organ was built by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool. A 1995 refurbishment replaced the fibrous plaster interior with concrete. The hall is recognised for its fine acoustics and flexible spaces. A 2015 renovation added the Music Room, a smaller performance space seating up to 250. The 1992 extension at the rear improved facilities. A memorial plaque inside honours John Frederick Clarke and the Titanic orchestra. The Manchester Guardian praised its ‘great size, noble proportions, and up-to-date appointments’. Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the inaugural concert in 1939. Brock Carmichael Associates led the 1992 and 1995 works. Visitors find a symmetrical frontage of fawn bricks and three storeys. A canopied entrance is flanked by semicircular stair turrets. Above the canopy, etched glass windows by Hector Whistler catch the light. Inside, the main auditorium seats a large audience with galleries on three sides. The organ console can be lowered from the stage. Posters are displayed on two piers outside the hall. The Music Room provides an intimate setting for smaller performances.