Remembering Liverpool Structures - Lewis's

 

 

David Lewis founded a small shop selling men's and boy's clothing when he opened his first small, glass-fronted shopsmall store on Ranelagh Street, Liverpool in 1856. His philosophy was to sell his clothing at the lowest possible price, with a promise to exchange items that had not been worn or were not damaged, and to sell goods for cash with no bartering allowed. The sale of women's clothes began in 1864 and by the 1870s there were also sections for shoes and tobacco in addition to clothing as Lewis's Department Store was now in full swing. By the time of his death in 1885 it had become the largest department store in Liverpool with David also bequeathing very large sums, (nearly £500,000), for the erection of hospitals and other philanthropic institutions, which constitute some of the most important in Liverpool. It expanded piece by piece between 1910-12 into much larger premises, which were gutted by fire in 1886 and then was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Nevertheless, it was rebuilt each time. The first building was replaced in the 1910s and 1920s with a design by Gerald de Courcy Fraser which incorporated the adjacent Watson Building. 

The unveiling of 'Liverpool Resurgent'

 

By 1931, when its 75th Anniversary was celebrated, Lewis's employed nearly 3,000 people in its Liverpool store. Following the Blitz the rebuild was again taken by Gerald de Courcy Fraser in 1947 and the newly constructed nine-storey 420,000 sq ft store re-opened in 1956 and was refurbished in 1957. It had managed to retain its own subway from Liverpool Central, the only store with a direct link from the station complex. This version included the statue 'Liverpool Resurgent', symbolising the city's renewed vigour following the horrors of the conflict. Nicknamed 'Dickie Lewis', this naked man who stands aprow a ship, defiant and proud, was unveiled for Lewis's Centenary celebrations in 1956. The statue is accompanied by relief panels depicting scenes of childhood, Children Fighting, Baby In Pram and Children Playing, with the figures in the panels modelled on the sculptor Jacob Epstein's own children and grandchildren. These represent the younger generation which Liverpool was being rebuilt for. It became a well-known local meeting place which would be immortalised in the 1962 anthemic song, 'In My Liverpool Home' by Peter McGovern, "We speak with an accent exceedingly rare. Meet under a statue exceedingly bare." Legend has it that even John Lennon met Cynthia under the Lewis's statue way back when. 

Their window displays were marvelled at with Mannequins displaying the latest fashions, giving way to the phrase, " You're standing there like one of Lewis's ." A food hall in the basement could be accessed easily from the Renshaw Street entrance, and taking the escalator up to the first floor you would find a Travel Bureau. On the third floor was a large Toy department, which incorporated the Christmas Grotto. It is the fifth floor of Lewis's though that has taken on an almost mythical status. In the store's heyday, the 1950s, the fifth floor was the place to dine in the self-service cafeteria or the Red Rose restaurant. You could also get your hair done in the salon, with children also able to do so sat astride a large elephant. A large mural decorated the walls, but this and the other features were hidden from the public in the 1980s. The floor was closed, and remained so until 2010 when it became the focus of an exhibition at the National Conservation Centre as it is like a time capsule. In its heyday this store was a famed emporium of glamour and spectacle which drew crowds from miles around and became the subject of urban myths, part of a retail phenomenon that changed the way we shop and the architectural landscape of our cities: a world in miniature, where shoppers could buy everything under one roof and the staff included up to four generations of families. The lifts, surprisingly, are one of the most interesting features of the store and some were still in place at least until work on Liverpool Central Village was begun. These lifts are original features of the building, and were operated by a member of staff through use of a lever. There were no controls for the customers! Both the fold-down seats and the lever mechanism are currently still in the building, and are mentioned and the passenger lifts at the south east of the building still have their 'clocks' with coloured lights which indicated which member of staff was required on the shop floor. They had unusual events and promotions to attract the crowds and even had a Zoo on the premises which was visited by Ken Dodd in the 1960s.

A young Paul McCartney worked there as a temp during the 1950s and Lewis's also lays claim to having The Beatles play there. The late-night appearance by 'The Beatles' on the 28th of November 1962 was at a staff party for the employees of the store, promoted as a 'Young Idea Dance' with the floor being renamed 'The 527 Club' for the night. 

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/01/remembering-liverpool-structures.html