There are no buildings listed at Grade I. Southport did not develop as a town until the late 18th century.
Most of the listed buildings are located to the north of the present town centre and consist mainly of small houses, many of them in a single storey, rendered or roughcast, and with thatched or slated roofs.
A feature of the shops is that a high proportion are fronted by verandahs in cast iron and glass.
The listed public buildings on the east side of the road include the Town Hall, the Atkinson Art Gallery and Library, and the Southport Arts Centre.
A pier was built in 1859–60, and from 1885 the foreshore was developed, with its Marine Lake, which is surrounded by listed cast iron shelters.