Historic former bank building on Victoria Street is reopening as an ornate 'gin palace'

A historic former bank building on Victoria Street in Liverpool city centre is about to reopen as an ornate ‘gin palace’.

The Queen’s Arms is the latest renovation by The 1936 Pub Co, and this one is going to be in the grand style of one of its previous award-winning projects, The Vines on Lime Street.

The landmark building, which dates back to the 1920s when it was a branch of Lloyds Bank, has had lots of different restaurant and bar lives since then.

Most recently, it was a drag showbar, but long before that it in the ‘90s it was a popular Pizza Express.

Now the former banking hall, with its original ceiling and columns a distinctive deep red and gold, will become the main bar of The Queen’s Arms, which is due to open in the next couple of weeks.

In addition to the main bar area, which will have a hand-crafted bar made from reclaimed materials, there’ll also be several snug areas – some that already existed and some that have created – and a mezzanine level.

This will be the company’s first venue in the business district end of town, and it’s hoping to add to the existing real ale pub options nearby by serving 10 rotating cask ales along with simple pub grub like jacket potatoes and pies.

Emilia Bona, head of comms for The 1936 Pub Co, says there’ll be an opulence to The Queens Arms in keeping with its past.

Emilia said:

“When we’re looking at a project, we love buildings that have got this existing history and link to the city. It’s rare that we take one on where we’re retrofitting an idea of a traditional pub, like we did with the Red Lion and Shandon Bells on Hope Street.

“Trying to restore the original features of a building is something we’re really passionate about and with this one thing, like the beautiful ceiling, the columns, and windows, huge doors and the original parquet flooring are all still there, you just didn’t really notice them before so it’s really a case of helping them to sing.

“Of all our current pubs in Liverpool city centre, this one will be most similar to The Vines, because the scale of it when you walk in feels very similar to the billiards room there.

“When people first come into The Vines, you can hear them going ‘wow’ because of the scale, how ornate it is, and there’s a real atmosphere to the space.

“With The Queen’s Arms, there’s the same decadence and opulence to the interior design, even though it’s a different architect and slightly different period.

“That has thankfully been preserved despite decades of change and many different owners, so we’re lucky we’ve still had that there, it’s just been our job to bring it to the fore.”