William Brown Street

The Picton Reading Room and Hornby Library are two grade II* listed buildings on William Brown Street, Liverpool, England, which now form part of the Liverpool Central Library. The chairman of the William Brown Library and Museum, Sir James Picton, laid the foundation stone of the Picton Reading Room in 1875. It was designed by Cornelius Sherlock, and modelled after the British Museum Reading Room, and was the first electrically lit library in the UK. It was completed in 1879 formally opened by the Mayor of Liverpool, Sir Thomas Bland Royden. The front is semicircular with Corinthian columns, and the shape was chosen by the architect to cover the change in the axis of the row of buildings at this point. The Hornby Reading Room (named after Hugh Frederick Hornby) by Thomas Shelmerdine was added in 1906. It stands behind the older building and the interior is decorated in the Edwardian Imperial style.

Central is a Liverpool City Council ward in the Liverpool Riverside Parliamentary constituency. The population at the 2011 census was 20,340. It was formed for the 2004 municipal elections from the former Abercromby, Everton and Smithdown wards. It contains the majority of the city centre but also includes Kensington Fields in Kensington to the east and the Marybone/Holy Cross community in Vauxhall. The ward includes the longstanding city centre community around the Bullring, as well as many new city centre apartments. Furthermore, the ward contains the Pier Head and the two larger universities; the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University. In 2004 Central was the city's most marginal ward, largely due to the intervention of the hard left Liverpool Labour Community Party. In more recent elections has become safer for Labour. The May 2008 local elections saw Labour take 62% of the vote. The 2011 vote was effected by the controversy involving the Liberal Democrat candidate, Daniel Bradley the son of former Liverpool City Council Leader Warren Bradley, when Daniel disclosed that he had not signed the candidate paper, which his father had witnessed.

The John Moores Prize Exhibition is a bi-annual competitive art exhibition held at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. It is named after Sir John Moores (1896–1993), the founder of the competition and one-time head of the Littlewoods clothes retailing empire.First held in 1957, it is Britain's most well-known competition for aimed solely at painters and is now part of the Liverpool Biennial, a citywide celebration of the arts that encompasses the Tate Liverpool, Bluecoats Gallery and other venues in Liverpool. In 2008, the exhibition was a major part of Liverpool's celebrations as European Capital of Culture.

The David France Collection is a collection of football memorabilia, consisting of more than 10,000 items related to the birth and development of Everton Football Club in Liverpool, England.

The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.

Liverpool Central Library is the largest of the 22 libraries in Liverpool, England, situated in the centre of the city.

Liverpool Record Office and Merseyside Record Office hold the archives for the city of Liverpool, and the rest of Merseyside. The archives are held at the Liverpool Central Library, and are run by Liverpool City Council.

The Steble Fountain stands in William Brown Street, Liverpool, England, to the west of Wellington's Column. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was donated to the city by a former mayor to fill a vacant plot to the west of the column.

The William Brown Library and Museum is a Grade II* listed building situated on the historic William Brown Street in Liverpool, England. The building currently houses part of the World Museum Liverpool and Liverpool Central Library. The William Brown Library and Museum building was conceived as a replacement for the Derby Museum (containing the Earl of Derby's natural history collection) which then shared two rooms on the city's Duke Street with a library. The land for the building on what was then called Shaw's Brow as well as much of the funding was provided by local MP and merchant Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet of Astrop, in whose honour the street was renamed. Following on from the then-recently completed St. George's Hall across the street, the new building was designed by Thomas Allom in a classical style including Corinthian columns and was modified by the Liverpool Corporation architect John Weightman. The new building opened its doors in 1860 with 400,000 people attending the opening ceremony. With Liverpool being one of the country's key ports, much of the city was badly damaged by German bombing during the Second World War and William Brown Library and Museum were no exception. Hit by firebombs during the blitz in 1941, the building was ravaged by fire and much of the building had to be rebuilt. Key parts of the museum's collection had been previously moved to less vulnerable locations and damage to those avoided. Plans have now been brought forward to redevelop the library, replacing the post–World War II additions with state-of-the-art facilities.

The County Sessions House is a former courthouse in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It stands at the bottom of Islington, to the east of the Walker Art Gallery, which now occupies the building. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Wellington's Column, or the Waterloo Memorial, is a monument to the Duke of Wellington standing on the corner of William Brown Street and Lime Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the museum is free. The museum is part of National Museums Liverpool.