William Brown Library and Museum facts for kids
The William Brown Library and Museum is a very important building in Liverpool, England. It is located on William Brown Street. This building is so special that it is a Grade II* listed building. This means it's protected because of its history and architecture. Today, it is home to parts of the World Museum Liverpool and the Liverpool Central Library.
This grand building was built to replace an older museum called the Derby Museum. That museum held a collection of natural history items. It belonged to the Earl of Derby. The old museum shared a small space with a library on Duke Street.
A kind and generous person named Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet of Astrop helped make the new building possible. He was a local MP (a person who helps make laws for the country) and a merchant. He gave the land for the building. This land was once called Shaw's Brow. Sir William also gave a lot of money to build it. Because of his generosity, the street was renamed in his honor.
Building Design and Opening
The William Brown Library and Museum was designed by Thomas Allom. He created it in a beautiful classical style. This style includes grand Corinthian columns. These are tall, fancy pillars. The design was also updated by John Weightman, an architect for the city of Liverpool. The building opened in 1860. A huge crowd of 400,000 people came to celebrate its opening!
Surviving the War
During the Second World War, Liverpool was a very important port city. Because of this, it was heavily bombed by German planes. The William Brown Library and Museum was hit by firebombs in 1941. This was during the Liverpool Blitz. The building was badly damaged by fire. Much of it had to be rebuilt after the war. Luckily, many important museum items were moved to safer places before the bombings. This helped protect them from harm.
Future Plans
There are exciting plans to update the library section of the building. The goal is to replace the parts rebuilt after World War II. These new changes will bring modern facilities to the library. This will make it even better for everyone who visits.
See also
- Architecture of Liverpool
