Liverpool Olympia

The Liverpool Olympia is situated next to The Grafton Ballroom on West Derby Road, Liverpool, England. The Liverpool Olympia was built in 1905 For Moss Empires Ltd by architect Frank Matcham as a purpose built indoor circus and variety theatre. The theatre was a response to the enormous success of Thomas Barrasford's Royal Hippodrome Theatre (4000 capacity, built 1902, demolished 1984) which stood a very short distance away; the Olympia never managed to meet the success of the Hippodrome, and never managed a profit. It is one of very few (if not the only one) if its kind left in the country. The animals would appear in the auditorium on a by being lifted from the basement where they lived. Evidence of the lift mechanism and living areas...