On a recent visit to Liverpool we found ourselves in the newly refurbished Central Library. Then we stumbled across The Picton Reading Room. I have to say it was like stepping back in time and frankly, we were all stunned. 
It really did have the wow factor!
It is a round room based on the Rotunda in the British Museum in London which, in turn, was based on the Pantheon in Rome. It is named in honour of James Allanson Picton, an architect and supporter of the Liverpool free library. It was completed in 1879. 
The ceiling is domed and my dark picture doesn’t really do it justice. The picture below shows the lovely green colour a bit better. 
It was a stunning place to stumble across. The other thing we enjoyed about the library was, that you can go out onto the roof and look out over the city. That was pretty special too!
Into The Glade! 
We’ve been there too. I love the way they built and refurbished the new library around this treasure.
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It has been so beautifully done hasn’t it? We were just were not expecting it at all. We were already impressed, I especially liked the book titles that are printed in the path as you walk up to the entrance, each seemed to remind me of something/someone, but to literally stumble across this room was such a treat. Even our girls were blown away – high praise indeed! Thank you for commenting, have a lovely day x
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I love this library. when I was at college many years ago (eep, over 30!!) I used to go to the Picton during the holidays to work on my essays. It always made me feel grown up & studious!! It’s a lovely space.
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It is and still very well used, there was standing room only for most of the time that we were there. We expected the whole library to be modern so were blown away when we stumbled across it. It has been so well restored! Ah I am glad it struck a chord x
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