For decades, a popular hotel stood on Paradise Street and its hallways were known to a number of celebrities, sports stars, locals and tourists.
It was back in November 1970 when construction on the city-centre hotel began, and from there, it welcomed thousands upon thousands of guests over three decades. Many will remember its early days as a Holiday Inn, which was completed in 1973.
At one point, the massive Holiday Inn site boasted a heated swimming pool, sauna, cocktail lounge, conference rooms, offices and more. Costing £1,500,000, the hotel was nine-storeys high and boasted 300 bedrooms.
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Whether it was for a first trip to the city, an event or conference or to stay over after a night out, it was a familiar sight in Liverpool. But the hotel only remained a Holiday Inn for just under 15-years before transforming into another well-known hotel chain.
By 1986, the Queens Moat House group took over Paradise Street's Holiday Inn site, and from there, it became known to many as the Moat House. The Liverpool ECHO previously reported how in its heyday, the hotel corridors welcomed the rich and famous from both sides of the Atlantic.
Staff waited on stars such as actor John Travolta and served the likes of Oliver Reed and Richard Harris. Award-winning actress Dame Judi Dench stayed at the hotel with Anna Massey when they were appearing on stage in Liverpool, and footballing legends Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan were also familiar faces.
In the '90s, auditions for Cilla's Blind Date were also held at the Moat House. During the decade, the hotel also hosted the ECHO Sports Personality of the Year Awards ceremony.
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A number of images of the lost hotel have recently been rediscovered by our archives, Mirrorpix - and some have been unseen for years. Photographs taken in the 1970s show the early days of construction on the site and what the hotel was like when it opened as The Holiday Inn.
Others captured in 1996 show the colourful uniforms worn by Moat House staff members Chris Brown, Pedro Purcell and Kevin Summner. In January that year, we also see former Liverpool FC player John Barnes leaving the Moat House after a belated Christmas fancy dress party.
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But the noughties saw the end of an era for the well-known hotel as in December 2004, the hotel closed its doors to guests for the last time. On December 21, the ECHO reported how staff were clearing the building during the festive season before the building was bulldozed to make way for Grosvenor's £850m redevelopment of the Paradise Street area.
The site was sold to the developers for £20m the year prior. By April 2005, work was in place to reduce the decades old hotel to rubble, but there were short delays caused by the discovery of asbestos.
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Developers Grosvenor called in a team of experts to remove it before progressing with the demolition. Grosvenor also said the Paradise Street project was running according to schedule despite the asbestos.
In May 2005, demolition began - and like "mechanical monsters" - three dismantling machines moved into Paradise Street to start taking apart the building. The demolition took about eight weeks and removed the hotel's concrete structure.
At the time, Grosvenor's project director Rod Holmes said: "The Moat House has been a feature of the city for a long time. Its demolition marks a significant moment in the Paradise Project construction programme.
"With every occasion of this nature, we take one step closer to realising the regeneration of the Paradise Street area." By June, the Moat House hotel was reduced to rubble and dust.
The hotel made way for a new multi-screen cinema and part of the new John Lewis store. But many still remember the days the Holiday Inn, and later the Moat House hotel, stood in the city.
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