and between the columnar and pseudo-columnar elements which dominate the facades the wall surfaces are rather flat. The relief of the various panels articulating these surfaces and that of the rare window frames is very low. Windows are completely suppressed on the south and the east fronts; the mouldings throughout, though large in size because of the tremendous scale, are extremely refined, cold and quite unornamented." Henry-Russell Hitchcock The following is about the Small Concert Hall: "Exquisite in color and covered with most elegant decoration in low relief, this room is above all a masterly exercise in the use of those 'shams' Camdenians most abominated. The balconies are of cast iron designed to look like some sort of woven wickerwork; of iron also are the pierced ventilating grilles along the front of the stage and in the ceiling panels around the central skylight. The delicate arabesques of the pilasters and friezes are papier-mâché. The graceful caryatids, seemingly sustaining the balcony on their fingertips, must be of iron or some synthetic composition; they were certainly never carved in stone. Whether these are themselves supports or whether the balcony is cantilevered on iron beams, the real construction is concealed. The wall panels not of wood but of plaster, supebly [sic] grained and varnished. Only the mirrors between the columns on the stage are what they seem; yet by a final paradox they create a faery unreality by their repeated reflection." Henry-Russell Hitchcock "Judging from his numerous perspective sketches, Elmes had the ability to rapidly design a building in perspective; not only did he prepare numerous sketches of the exterior, but also perspective views of the interior of the great loggia, and various other features. His full-size details, although Classic in spirit, are essentially modern in character; every suite of mouldings received due consideration as to its placing, and its ultimate relation to the scheme as a whole. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the Neo-Grec ornament selected for terminating the dominating attic. The whole building fulfils the highest canons of the academic style, and is unsurpassed by any other modern building in Europe. Albert Richardson See also Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool Architecture of Liverpool List of public art in Liverpool Baths of Caracalla References Citations Sources External links St George's Hall Site Conservation of reliefs History of the ventilation system Panoramic images of the hall from the City of Liverpool