00:00It's one of Liverpool's most recognisable landmarks, but a Sefton Park's palm house hasn't always looked at the way visitors
00:07see it today.
00:08A new exhibition called Save It, open at Liverpool's Central Library, tells the story of how this Victorian glass house
00:14fell into serious decline before being brought back to life through a determined community campaign.
00:20It does feel like we can't imagine not having the palm house, but that could have happened if it wouldn't
00:27have been for the campaigners who just absolutely refused to let the palm house continue going into Rack and Brewing
00:37or be demolished.
00:38Built in 1896 by local resident Henry Yates Thompson, the palm house was designed to give people in Liverpool the
00:45chance to experience plants from around the world close to home.
00:48But its history hasn't always been without challenges. After being damaged by a nearby bomb during the Second World War,
00:54it was restored in 1951.
00:56However, unsuitable materials were used and with limited investment in the following decades, the building deteriorated further.
01:02By 1984, most of the original plants had been removed and six years later, the palm house was forced to
01:08close completely.
01:09It wasn't until a sign reading Save It appeared on the hoardings that a grassroots campaign began to take shape.
01:15And they fought tirelessly and for many years. It was a 10-year-long campaign to get the palm house
01:24restored and reopened into what we now know today.
01:29Over the next decade, local volunteers worked alongside Liverpool City Council to secure around £3.5 million in funding to
01:36restore the structure.
01:37George Harrison did indeed contribute to the restoration of the palm house, an undisclosed figure.
01:45I still do not know how much. And we had George Mellie, who is the Prager, who said one of
01:51my favourite quotes, which is here on display as well.
01:54With iron bones and glass feathers, Liverpool's own phoenix has risen from its rusty ashes.
02:01Today, the space serves as both a heritage attraction and a venue for education and public events.
02:06It's also 130 years since the palm house was initially opened in 1896.
02:13So we've got lots of anniversary celebrations throughout the year.
02:17This exhibition not only marks 25 years since its reopening, but also reflects on the wider importance of preserving historic
02:24spaces for future generations.
02:26I think the palm house is an incredible story of people power and just a true example of if there
02:34is something that you are really passionate about and you really feel strongly about.
02:39Think about the palm house, because I'm sure when they first saw that dilapidated state, you know, and the amount
02:46of money that was going to be needed to be raised to restore it, it must have just felt like
02:52just a mountain to climb.
02:54And I think we Scousers are just born with a little bit of grit and determination.
02:59And I think we've got a little bit of grit and determination.
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