White Star Line James Street Offices Liverpool

Up until 1895, the headquarters of the White Star Line were located in Liverpool at 10, Water Street, but in 1896, the company opened its brand new head offices at 30, James Street, just around the corner from the old ones.

The stylish new building was designed by the celebrated architect Richard Norman Shaw, who had just finished work designing Scotland Yard for the Metropolitan Police, and the new offices were basically a better version of that building. Shaw's other noted works included the Albert Hall Mansions and the Savoy Theatre.

Joseph Bruce Ismay's own office was believed to have been in the lowest part of the turret nearest to the camera, in the picture seen here on the left, and from here it was only a short walk to the Mersey to view the arrival and departure of the company's liners, together with those of the White Star Line's biggest rival, Cunard

May 10th, 1934 is a date to strike fear into the hearts of lovers of the White Star Line, as this was the fateful day that the Cunard & White Star Line merger was sealed. In the next few months, thousands and thousands of tons of White Star liners would be sold or scrapped, and the the James Street offices were also discarded too. Cunard's own offices in Liverpool were only a few hundred yards away, and the new merged company foresaw no future for the building that even today is still the spiritual home of the White Star Line.

Copyright Titanic-Titanic.com 2008

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