Liverpool City Centre 6.22

Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical heart of Liverpool, England, and its surrounding region.Unlike many other cities in the United Kingdom, a ring road doesn't distinguish the city centre from the remainder of Liverpool, although an inner ring road of sorts does exist, with the recent completion of a new road off Hall Lane, to the east of the city centre, which now connects all the major city centre orbital roads. The inner city districts of Vauxhall, Everton, Edge Hill, Kensington, and Toxteth mark the border with Liverpool city centre. The immediate city centre consists of the postal districts of L1, L2 and L3, although L6, L7 and L8 cover some parts of the outer city centre also. The resident population of the city centre has grown dramatically over the last decade and now stands at around 36,000 people and climbing.Liverpool was granted borough status in 1207, and the original seven streets of the settlement can now be found within the "commercial district" of Liverpool city centre. Many of Liverpool's most famous landmarks are located in the city centre and in 2006 Liverpool was visited by 625,000 international visitors alone, making it the fourth most visited city in the United Kingdom and the ninety-first most visited on earth. Six areas within Liverpool city Centre form the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City which is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. Liverpool city centre is one of the most architecturally significant locations in the country. Examples of the impressive and varied architecture in Liverpool city centre include Liverpool Cathedral (the fifth largest church building in the world), St. George's Hall (described by Queen Victoria as 'worthy of ancient Athens'), the Royal Liver Building (which is considered Britain's first skyscraper), Oriel Chambers the world's first metal framed glass curtain walled building and West Tower (currently the second tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London).