Walter Aubrey Thomas was born in 1859 in Tranmere, Birkenhead, and the son of architect and engineer Humphrey Glegge Thomas. At a young age Walter served under architect Frank Doyle in Liverpool, at his practice on Dale Street.
In 1876 he decided to open his own architectural practice. He didn’t design his first building until 1893, which was the New Zealand House; a commercial building, on Water Street, Liverpool.
His first noticed building was the Lord Street Arcade; named for the street it is located on, in Liverpool which managed to get a listed 2 grade; meaning it is a building of national importance.
Walter’s most famous building was the Royal Liver Building, with construction beginning in 1908, the building wasn’t completed until 1911, and cost at the time £533,000; which in todays money is around £58,000,000. The Royal Liver Building is 1 of 3 buildings on the Liverpool Pier Head which make up the ‘Three Graces’; the other 2 being the Port of Liverpool Building and the Cunard Building, all designed by different architects.
Walter Aubrey Thomas got his inspiration for the Royal Liver Building after visiting America. His inspiration was from the skyscrapers but the most influential build was the Ingalls building in Cincinnati, Ohio. Built just 5 years before the Liver building, it was the worlds first building constructed with reinforced concrete.
Walter Aubrey Thomas was a very modest man and hated publicity, after being offered a knighthood after the completion of the Royal Liver Building, he turned it down. He was married in 1886 at the age of 27 and had 7 children. He sadly died on the 13th September 1934.
Royal Liver Building, Liverpool 