Page 668 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

transatlantic passenger shipping - most prominently Cunard's Liverpool to
New York service.

Cunard offered the fastest service to the United States for the next 30 years

but fell behind rivals the White Star Line and the Inman Line in the 1870s. Sir

Samuel died in 1865 and Charles MacIver took over his role at the top of

Cunard.

The company bounced back and restored its supremacy as the 19th century

drew to a close. It brought more than a million of the 2.5m people to settle in

the United States in the 1880s.

Cunard employed many people across Merseyside and bolstered Liverpool's

reputation as a maritime city during the golden age of passenger shipping. At
its peak, it operated 46 vessels from Liverpool, linking the city with the US,

Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

Cunard made a number of technological advances in the early 20th century. It
launched two superliners - the Lusitania and Mauretania - and its fleet was

advertised as "floating palaces", such was their luxury.

The company outgrew its existing headquarters and commissioned the

construction of The Cunard Building in 1914. It was completed in 1917 to

become Liverpool's Third Grace.

Cunard used the building as its headquarters until the 1960s and many of its

most famous ships were designed there - including the Queen Mary, Queen

Elizabeth and the QE2.

While it was operational, the lower floors were used by passengers before and

after they sailed while the upper floors were used by staff. The passenger
areas included waiting rooms, a ticket hall and currency exchange.