The dock was designed by Henry Berry and opened in 1785.[3] Further warehouse buildings were added by John Foster Sr. The dock was closed in 1972[3] and the branch docks have been filled in.
After closure
The open space was often used as a concert venue, when a large tent and stage was erected. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra played their Summer Pops concert series here. Everton FC had proposed to build a new stadium here, but those plans fell through in 2003.[4] On 28 July 2004, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their Turnaround Tour supporting their album Turnaround.
In 2008 completed regeneration of King's Waterfront, adjacent to the Albert Dock, became an exemplary case of successful brownfield land development.[5] As a result of this project, leisure, residential and conference facilities have been developed including 11,000-seat capacity Echo Arena Liverpool and convention centre officially opened in January 2008[6] when Liverpool's year of European Capital of Culture began, 3,600 square metre multi-purpose hall, 1,350 seat conference auditorium with associated breakout rooms, 1,600 space multi-storey car park, central public plaza, 1,800 residential housing units, and two 3-star plus hotels, along with the 4-star luxury Pullman Liverpool Hotel.[5]