PERHAPS the most famous landmark in the city is the Liver Building, topped by the "Liver Birds" which look out across the River Mersey.
There is still debate over what the mysterious Liver Birds are supposed represent, but it is generally believed that they took their name from the "lyver" seaweed they grasp in their bills.
The most important thing to many in the city though is not whether the stone birds are cormorants or even griffins, it is the knowledge that when they stare up at the Liver Birds and clock faces of the Liver Building they are home.
The waterfront architecture of the "Three Graces" - the Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building - arguably makes for one of the most imposing waterfront views in the world.
It is best appreciated from a Mersey ferry, where the scale and grandeur of the buildings against a backdrop of other famous Liverpool landmarks can be breathtaking.
Work began on the Liver Building in 1908 when the foundation stone of this remarkable building was laid. It took another three years to complete the project.
The building is made from a ferro-concrete frame and a scheme of columns and beams take the weight of the walls and floors.
The clock faces on the building are wider than those of Big Ben in London, with a diameter of 25 feet.
When they were unveiled in 1911 they formed part of the largest electrically driven clock in Britain, and were accurate to within 30 seconds in a year.
