Reply With QuoteOriel Chambers
14 Water Street, built in 1864, designed by Peter Ellis is one of the most significant buildings in the world. At the time of construction it was the tallest office building in the world and with its’ glass, curtain walls allowing light to flood into the interiors (this was the day of coal gas and candles) it foreshadowed the Modern Movement by many years.
Before you all take a fruitless walk up and down Water Street I should tell you that this is 14 Water Street in Liverpool, not New York and I draw it to your attention for three reasons. Firstly, the close cultural links that existed (do they still?) between my home city and New York lead directly from this building to the skyscrapers of Chicago and Manhattan. 14 Water Street or Oriel Chambers, lies in the heart of downtown and two blocks away from Rumford Place, home of the Confederate Embassy during the civil war. At the time of its construction John Wellborn Root (1850-1891) was sent by his family to Liverpool to avoid the civil war (an early draft dodger!) and would have seen the construction of this and other Ellis buildings in the town. This brilliant architect, JW Root later went on to build the finest early skyscrapers in Chicago (i.e. The Rookery - 1885) incorporating many of Ellis’s ideas.
My second reason for drawing 14 Water Street to your attention are the parallels which can be drawn between the reconstruction of your downtown and my (Liverpool) downtown and the fierce resistance and criticism experienced by those that wish to re-build and regenerate both. During each night of the month of May 1941, Liverpool was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe suffering a 9/11 each and every night of that month. Throughout that war much of our downtown was obliterated and Oriel Chambers itself was badly damaged in the May blitz, although later repaired. Adjacent to Oriel Chambers is a vacant block where all the buildings were indeed destroyed by the bombing. Attempts have been made recently to put up an iconic skyscraper on this site; a Calatrava design such as has been proposed in your Water Street would be a magnificent and profitable addition to our downtown, although something in his “Twisting Torso” idiom I think would be more appropriate here. By now I hope you are thinking “63 years after the bombing and it’s still a bombsite?” and yes, unbelievably, 200 meters from the Town Hall, in the heart of downtown, it is indeed still a bombsite.
The third parallel I want to draw is the one of preservation. Whilst no one is suggesting demolishing Oriel Chambers or our other precious old buildings to make way for modern development (and one hopes on your water front too) downtown Liverpool has this year been “awarded” UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The consequence of this is that the planners can use this to rigorously enforce a strict moratorium on tall structures.
At the time of its construction and for 50 years after, Liverpool was the second wealthiest city in the world. In terms of it’s vibrancy it is similar still to New York but Liverpool today is one of the poorest city’s in Europe with eight out of ten working for the government and the highest level of income support claimants in the UK. There are those amongst us ready, willing and able to re-build our city despite almost insurmountable City Council and local government obstruction to tall buildings. When those of you who question such an outrageously modern building as Calatrava’s near your Water Street, whether on preservation of the nature of site or on economic grounds take heed of our Water Street where the worlds first skyscraper was built in 1864 but even 63 years after our downtown was obliterated by bombs, the adjacent block awaits rebuilding. After you’re the dreadful damage done in 2001 to your downtown, let this be a cautionary tale to you in New York; if conservative forces prevail, stagnation and poverty follow.
One final parallel, Mr Sciame’s headquarters’ are on the barque Wavertree, a Liverpool ship, Wavertree being a borough of Liverpool.
Originally Posted by Stern
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