100th anniversary of the Liver building

July 19th marked the 100th anniversary of Liverpool's iconic Liver Building. It was the UK's first "skyscraper" with 13 floors.

The very "Gotham City"-like, Liver Building

The Liver Birds who stand protective over Liverpool are an extraordinary mix of cormorant and eagle. Worn on the chests of  thousands of football supporters it is also the name of a classic 1970's British sitcom set in Liverpool.  A funny local saying is that "whenever a genuine female virgin or honest man passes by the Liver Buildings, the Liver Birds will flap their great wings".

On a more serious note the city will also honour the man who designed these majestic birds. Up until now almost nothing was known about the creator,  a German wood sculptor Carl Bernard Bartels who fell in love with England on his honeymoon and never left. Just 3 years after his Liver Birds were erected he was forcibly removed from England along with other German nationals during First World War.  The blueprints and designs were destroyed during the Second World War and  it was deemed unthinkable to acknowledge a German as having anything to do with Liverpool.