The superbly restored Albert Dock, the first such facility in Britain to be built using only bricks and iron, is an impressive five-story-high block of buildings surrounding the harbor basin where cotton, tobacco, and sugar were once unloaded.
These enormous Victorian structures are built around an arcaded walkway, their cast Tuscan columns once serving as capstans for moored ships.
The decoratively restored warehouses with their luxury apartments, designer boutiques, restaurants, cafés, and museums are a prime example of "gentrification," a phenomena which can also be witnessed in London, Manchester and Glasgow, whereby once decaying inner cities are restored to provide recreational amenities.
