 The first gentlemen 's club to be designed by Harrison was the Lyceum in Liverpool . This contained a newsroom , a coffee house , and new premises for the Liverpool Library . It was the first building in Liverpool to incorporate Greek motifs in its design . It includes one of the earliest recessed porticoes in England , and its exterior includes Doric and Ionic columns . Inside the building , the library is a circular room about 50 feet ( 15 m ) in diameter ; it is top @-@ lit with a dome . The newsroom and coffee room measure about 70 feet ( 21 m ) by 50 feet ( 15 m ) . The club was built between 1801 and 1802 at a cost of £ 11 @,@ 000 ( equivalent to £ 890 @,@ 000 in 2015 ) . In 1803 building commenced in Manchester of the Portico Library , which also incorporated a gentlemen 's club , and introduced Greek motifs to the city . Like the Liverpool club , it contains a recessed portico with Ionic columns and half @-@ columns . The interior measures about 60 feet ( 18 m ) by 40 feet ( 12 m ) ; the ground floor was used as the newsroom , the library books were arranged around a gallery , and again it was top @-@ lit with a dome . The building was completed in 1806 and cost about £ 6 @.@ 800 ( equivalent to £ 500 @,@ 000 in 2015 ) . The third gentlemen 's club was the Commercial News Room in Chester , with three Ionic half @-@ columns on its main front . The newsroom measures about 40 feet ( 12 m ) by 25 feet ( 8 m ) . It opened in 1808 , and is smaller than the other club 's , costing about £ 2 @,@ 700 ( equivalent to £ 190 @,@ 000 in 2015 ) . All the gentlemen 's clubs are still in existence , but two major buildings Harrison designed in Manchester have not survived . The Theatre Royal was built in 1806 – 07 at a cost of about £ 12 @,@ 000 ( equivalent to £ 860 @,@ 000 in 2015 ) ; it could seat 1 @,@ 020 people , but was destroyed by fire in 1844 . Harrison also designed the Manchester Exchange to replace an earlier building with the same purpose . It contained a newsroom , library , dining room , and post office . The exchange was built between 1806 and 1809 , and had a semi @-@ circular front decorated with Doric half @-@ columns , but it has since been superseded by a larger building . 
