TJ Hughes has sat at the heart of London Road for almost 100 years.
The famous department store was founded in 1912 in a smaller building nearby, and moved to its current location on London Road in 1925.
Plans were submitted this week to convert Audley House, the current site of TJ Hughes on London Road, into a new residential complex with 266 apartments.
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The proposals come as demolition works get underway next door on the former Hughes House, which will see it become home to almost 250 apartments.
Following the news this week, we decided to take a look back at the history of TJ Hughes and what it looked like during its glory days.
The business began back in 1912 when it opened in a different building on London Road with five shop assistants.
Within 20 years the business had grown into one of the city's biggest department stores with over 400 staff.
This success was a testament to founder Thomas J Hughes' hard work and vision.
In 1933, over 20 years after establishing his first store, it appears Thomas J Hughes's mental health declined, with some speculation it was not helped by the stress of overwork.
On April 14 that year, the ECHO reported Thomas J Hughes had died after taking his own life aboard a steamship travelling to Belfast.
Despite his death, T J Hughes' name lived on and the department store became known as one of the best and most loved bargain stores in the city.
Photos from our archives show shoppers queuing outside the London Road store on Christmas Eve morning, 1992, as they eagerly awaited it to open.
By 2011, there were 57 TJ Hughes stores across the UK. However, in that same year the company went into administration and shrank to just six.
Since the company emerged with new owners in 2011, those six stores continue to trade under the T J Hughes brand in stores located in Liverpool, Eastbourne, Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield and Widnes.
Plans to convert the London Road department store into a residential complex were submitted this week and are yet to be approved.
They have been submitted by Vision International Group Limited and would aim to retain much of the building’s character - including it’s striking tower and other significant features of its façade.
According to the planning application, TJ Hughes is aiming to move to a more central location in Liverpool city centre following a significant drop in retail footfall in the London Road area.
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