Long before the days of mobile phones, social media and the internet, meeting friends required a bit more planning than we know today.
It may feel alien to younger generations, but years ago you had to had to rely on your friends having the right location and time to meet up. And many will know it was even more nerve-wracking if you were waiting for a first date to arrive.
Liverpool has many amazing sights and landmarks which have shaped the city's history – and many of them have proved more than helpful in this instance. Some meeting points like bus stops and train stations are obvious choices, whereas others are specific to Liverpool or well-known businesses lost and changed through time.
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From meeting under 'Dickie Lewis' to getting off at the old bubble bus stops, many of us have memories congregating and waiting at these places. Here, we take a look back at a number of places we used to meet friends in Liverpool before mobile phones.
This list isn't intended to be comprehensive, we asked for a number of your suggestions on our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group and included the most popular. But if there are any others you think we should have included, let us know in the comments section below.
Under 'Dickie Lewis'
From 1856 to 2010, the Lewis’s empire welcomed generations of Merseysiders who shopped and worked there. Located on the corner of Renshaw Street and Ranelagh Street, one of its most famous features is a statue of a nude man by Sir Jacob Epstein, which was unveiled for Lewis’s centenary celebrations in 1956.
It was built as a symbol of the city’s – and the store’s – ability to endure adversity and generations will more likely know it as 'Dickie Lewis'. In the days before mobile phones, it was a common to meet up with friends in town, telling them "meet under Dickie Lewis’" at a given time.
Outside Silver Blades
When The Silver Blades Ice Rink opened its doors in 1935, it was the place to be in Liverpool. Originally called the Palace Ice Rink, the site was used for roller skating but re-opened some years later, changing its name to Silver Blades in the 60s.
Deemed financially unviable, Silver Blades on Prescot Road was closed down on July 4, 1986. But for decades, it was a spot where friends met up outside as a starting point to the day, or to go and have some fun on the ice.
Getting off the bubble stops
Liverpool's lost 'bubble bus stops' belonged to a time when the city centre was a very different place to today. One of the biggest changes to Liverpool city centre in recent memory was the demolition of the Roe/Hood Street Gyratory, to build Queen Square bus station in 1996.
The old gyratory had been known locally as the 'bubble bus stops' due to the curved plastic design of its shelters which took up the length of both Roe and Hood Street. Naturally, it was a meeting stop before mobiles as friends could find one another coming off the buses, or arrange time of arrivals off the bus timetables.
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
At the Legs of Man
The Legs of Man was a popular pub in Liverpool for years. Located on the corner of Lime Street and London Road, next to the Empire Theatre, it was a familiar sight in the city.
In its heyday, it was a regular haunt of Empire actors, theatregoers and lawyers working at Liverpool’s main courts at St George’s Hall. Despite fierce opposition the pub was demolished in 1999 to make way for an extension to the Empire, but it was a known landmark for years people would recognise and congregate outside.
By the Hanover pub
Another well known pub in the city, for decades, people have headed to the Hanover Hotel for a pint. Since the noughties, it has also been known for McCartney's bar, but many will remember picking this as a landmark to meet friends and family years ago.
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Inside Central station
Central station sees more passengers every year than the considerably larger Lime Street Station. The original Central Station high level terminal opened in 1874, but the station we know today was redeveloped and opened in 1977, replacing both high and low level terminal stations, the ECHO previously reported.
Similar to local bus stops, this is an obvious choice of a meeting point for many, from those getting off the trains to others using it as a more central point in the city centre. Likewise, Lime Street Station could be suggested from years gone by.
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