<P> There are two less well - known liver birds in the city . A third metal bird is on the nearby Mersey Chambers office building, adjacent to the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas, the parish church of the city of Liverpool . The fourth, a bird carved in stone, topped the original St John's Market building until its demolition in 1964 . The stone liver bird is now displayed at the Museum of Liverpool . </P> <P> Though nowadays the bird is inseparable in the public mind with Liverpool Football Club, the first club to use it as a symbol was in fact Everton . It was replaced in the 1930s with Prince Rupert's Tower, another Liverpudlian icon . Some fans believe it should be reinstated, arguing that as a symbol of the whole city it rightfully belongs to both clubs . </P> <P> The modern popularity of the symbol largely dates to 1911, when the Liver Building was built . This prominent display of two liver birds rekindled the idea that the liver was a mythical bird that once haunted the local shoreline . According to popular legend, they are a male and female pair: the female looking out to sea, watching for the seamen to return safely home, and the male looking in to the city, watching over the seamen's families (or "making sure the pubs are open", as a jocular version has it). Local legend also holds that the birds face away from each other as, if were they to mate and fly away, the city would cease to exist . In fact, they were indeed designed to watch the city (our people) and the sea (our prosperity). </P> <P> Another popular story told about them is that they are chained down, as if they were to fly away the River Mersey would burst its banks and flood the city of Liverpool . This is somewhat similar to the mating story . </P>

Why do the liver birds face different ways
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