Williamson Square
{{Short description|Square in the city centre of Liverpool, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Coord|53.4065413|N|2.983236|W|display=title}}
File:Liverpool city centre - geograph.org.uk - 35486.jpg
File:Williamson Square, Liverpool - geograph.org.uk - 702932.jpg
Williamson Square is in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was initially laid out as a residential square in the 1745 by Mr Williamson.{{cite book|author=A. Nonagenarian|title=Recollections of Old Liverpool|year=2009|publisher=The Echo Library|location=Middlesex|isbn=9781406852332 }}{{Citation | last1 =Pollard| first1 =Richard | last2 = Pevsner | first2 = Nikolaus | author2-link =Nikolaus Pevsner| series= The Buildings of England|title =Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West | publisher =Yale University Press | year =2006 | location =New Haven and London | page = 245| isbn =0-300-10910-5 }} It originally only had buildings on the lower part and the other three parts were not covered.{{cite book|title=The Stranger in Liverpool, or, An historical and descriptive view of the town of Liverpool and its environs|publisher=Thos. Kaye|location=Liverpool}}
The Liverpool Playhouse stands on the east side of the square, and the other sides are occupied by shops. Formerly the north side was occupied by the Theatre Royal, but this was demolished in 1965. The square also contained a fountain, consisting of 20 jets of water that could rise to a height of up to four metres. The fountain was controlled by a computer, and during the evenings was illuminated with coloured lights.{{Citation | last = Pye| first = Ken| year = 2011| title = Discover Liverpool| publication-place = Liverpool| publisher = Trinity Mirror Media| page = 66| isbn = 978-1-906802-90-5}} However, as of 2023, the fountain no longer functions.{{Cite web |last=Ryder |first=Elliott |date=2022-05-21 |title=Dried-up fountains and the 'managed decline' of Williamson Square |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/dried-up-fountains-managed-decline-24012817 |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Liverpool Echo |language=en}}