Liverpool Fruit Exchange

The Liverpool Fruit Exchange is a building which originally started its life as a railway goods depot and was constructed in approximately 1888. In 1923 the building was converted into a fruit exchange where traders would go to purchase bulk inventories of fruit which had likely been imported to the nearby docks. The lower levels which were previously used as warehouses and storage for the goods that were sold, were repurposed decades ago and are currently operating as bars and nightclubs. The upper floors, which remains relatively untouched, house the two main exchanges which are both semicircular in nature with rows of seats where the traders would have sat during the auctions and a central bench where the auctioneers stood to conduct the sales. Areas in front of the seats can also be observed where the fruit would have been brought up on a pulley system from the warehouses below. The smaller room retained some of the mechanisms for this which were really nice to see. Dominating the main auction room was the huge circular skylight, I’ve always been a fan of natural light in these abandoned buildings and this property was one of the best I have come across for its atmospheric lighting.

 

We visited early one morning, access was tricky to say the least but, it was well worth it! You might notice the red lights in the first photo… these were from the nightclub below which also provided a soundtrack to our visit and the odd blast of dry ice to add to the effect of the photos, such an enjoyable explore, thanks to Matt, Pete and Louis.

If you’ve made it this far… thanks for reading / checking out the pictures. Leave me a comment below or hit the like button to let me know you’ve enjoyed the shots and to encourage me to keep posting more 🙂

Limited Edition prints and Canvases, as well as regular prints, are available for all of the images above on request and visit the store for more prints and products.

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