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Manchester
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{| class="infobox bordered" cellpadding="3" width="250"
|-
!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|City of Manchester
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
Image:manchesteraerial.jpg 200px|Aerial view of Manchester city centre
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
Image:EnglandManchester.png 150px|Manchester
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Geography
|-
|width="45%"|Status:||
Metropolitan borough,
City status in the United Kingdom City (1853)
|-
|
Regions of England Region:||
North West England
|-
|
Ceremonial counties of England Ceremonial county:||
Greater Manchester
|-
|
Traditional counties of England Traditional county:||
Lancashire, part in
Cheshire
|-
|
Surface area Area:
- Total||
List of English districts by area Ranked 228th115.65
square kilometre km²
|-
|Admin. HQ:||Manchester
|-
|
ONS coding system ONS code:||00BN
|-
|Geographical coordinates:||{{coor dm|53|29|N|2|15|W|type:city(437000)_region:GB-MAN}}
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Demographics
|-
|
Population:
- Total (2004 est.)
-
Density.html">List of English districts by population
Ranked 6th437,000
3,779 / km²
|-
|Ethnicity:||81.0% White
9.1% S.Asian
4.5% Afro-Carib.
1.3% Chinese
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Politics
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
Image:City_of_Manchester_Coat_of_Arms.jpg 200px|Arms of the City of ManchesterManchester City Council
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/
|-
|
Local government in England#Councils and councillors Leadership:||Leader & Cabinet
|-
|Executive:||
Labour Party (UK) Labour
|-
|
MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005 MPs:||
Paul Goggins,
Gerald Kaufman,
John Leech (politician) John Leech,
Tony Lloyd,
Graham Stringer
|}
'''Manchester''' is a
city in the
North West England North West of
England. It is a centre of the arts, the media and big business. The city is world-famous for its sport, being home to the
Manchester City F.C. Manchester City and
Manchester United football clubs and the
Lancashire County Cricket Club, and having hosted the
2002 Commonwealth Games XVII Commonwealth Games in 2002.
The city is named from the old
Ancient Rome Roman name ''Mamucium'' plus ''ceaster'', derived from the old
Latin '
Castra'. Manchester is a
metropolitan borough with
City status in the United Kingdom city status. The city proper has a population of 437,000, whilst the wider urban area
Greater Manchester has a population of
List of conurbations in the United Kingdom 2,284,093. It is the UK's "third city" after
London and
Birmingham.
Greater Manchester consists of the metropolitan district of Manchester and the surrounding boroughs of
Trafford,
Tameside,
City of Salford Salford,
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Wigan,
Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Bolton,
Metropolitan Borough of Bury Bury,
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Oldham,
Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Rochdale and
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Stockport.
Geography and climate
Manchester is situated within a bowl-shaped land area, bordered to the north and east by the
Pennine Heath (habitat) moors and to the south by the
Cheshire Plain. The city centre is located on the east bank of the
River Irwell, near the confluence of the
River Medlock and the
River Irk. The
River Mersey also flows through the south of the city. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views of the
Heath (habitat) moors from the floors of many tall buildings. Manchester's geographic features were highly influential in its early development as the world's first industrial city. These features are its climate, its proximity to a
port sea port at
Liverpool, the availability of water power from its rivers, and its nearby coal reserves.
Manchester has a damp climate and a reputation as a rainy city. The average annual rainfall is 809 mm, meaning that its reputation is relatively undeserved.{{ref|809mm}} For example, this total is less than that of
Plymouth,
Cardiff,
Glasgow, or
Edinburgh. In international terms, Manchester receives substantially less rain than
New York City, which receives 1200 mm of rain in an average year, and its average annual rainfall total is comparable with that of
Rome. The precipitation is light, however, so a small volume of rain may take an hour to fall in Manchester, compared to several minutes of heavy rain experienced in Rome. Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which is why it is noted for being a fabric town (chiefly manufacturing cotton, but to the south silk).
History
{{main|History of Manchester}}
Image:Peterloo carlile.JPG Peterloo massacre.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|The [[Peterloo massacre..html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|The [[Peterloo massacre">thumb|250px|right|The [[Peterloo massacre.">250px|right|The [[Peterloo massacre">thumb|250px|right|The [[Peterloo massacre.
Image:mankmill.jpg thumb|250px|right|A mill in Manchester in the 1940s, similar to hundreds of textile mills which covered the city in the 19th century.
Image:ManchesterShipCanal OwlofDoom.jpg thumb|250px|right|The [[Manchester Ship Canal, the first in Western Europe outside of the
Netherlands.
Image:Lanc.600pix.jpg Avro Lancaster.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|The [[Avro Lancaster was built and designed in the city during
WW2..html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|The [[Avro Lancaster">thumb|250px|right|The [[Avro Lancaster was built and designed in the city during
WW2.">250px|right|The [[Avro Lancaster">thumb|250px|right|The [[Avro Lancaster was built and designed in the city during
WW2.
Earlier history
The Manchester area was settled in or before
Roman Empire Roman times. In the course of a campaign against the
Brigantes, the Roman general
Gnaeus Julius Agricola Agricola set up a fort at Mamucium on the East bank of the Irwell. This temporary structure was rebuilt several times, and became an important staging post where the roads between the legionary fortresses of
Chester and
York, and the road northwards, crossed. There was a civilian settlement, or ''vicus''. An extremely rare
Christian word square was discovered in excavations some years ago. The North Gate of this fort has been reconstructed on the original site, together with a section of the fortress wall, and these may be found in the
Castlefield district, at the end of Deansgate.
The fort was abandoned in the
Dark Ages, and at some point in time the focus of settlement shifted from this spot to the confluence of the rivers
River Irwell Irwell and
Irk. In medieval times, this area included a fortified manor house. Thomas De La Warre, a manorial lord who also happened to be a priest, gave the site to the church for use as a College of Priests around 1422, and commenced the construction of the Collegiate Church. The former is now
Chetham's School of Music, and the latter
Manchester Cathedral.
A medieval charter accidentally divorced Salford from Manchester, which became a separate township. Consequently, the suburb (now City) of Salford arose on the West bank of the River Irwell, which is only 20 metres wide where it runs between the two cities.
In the 14th century, Salford and Manchester became home to a community of
Flemings Flemish weavers who settled in the town to produce wool and linen, beginning the tradition of cloth manufacture.
Manchester was an important place in the county of Lancashire by the time of the
reformation. Perhaps the textile connections (which included the City Of London) resulted in the spread of
Puritanism and nonconformity. In
1642,
Lord Strange attempted to seize the militia magazine for the King. This was opposed, and the resulting casualty, one Richard Percival, is said to have been the first man to be killed in the
English Civil War. Lord Strange returned to besiege the town without success.
In 1745,
Charles Edward Stuart passed through the town en route to Derby. Upon the subsequent retreat, some luckless Manchester recruits were left to garrison Carlisle, where they surrendered to the British Army.
Defoe described Manchester as the "greatest mere village" in the first decade of the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, it was the
Industrial Revolution, particularly in the last quarter of the 18th century, that transformed a market town into a great city. Its damp climate was ideal for cotton processing, and with the development of steam-powered engines for spinning and weaving the cotton industry quickly developed throughout the region (for example,
Quarry Bank Mill in
Styal,
Cheshire). It also became an important distribution centre, populated by increasingly important warehouses.
The construction of the Duke's Canal, sometimes referred to as the
Bridgewater Canal, Britain's first true artificial inland waterway, spurred this development by the provision of abundant quantities of cheap coal. The opening of the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first main line railway, also contributed to the town's rapid development.
Manchester quickly grew into the most important industrial centre in the world, and, significantly, the first industrial society. The pace of change was fast and frightening. At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen — new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the so called 'Manchester School', promoting
free trade and ''
laissez-faire''), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects, and new forms of labour organisation. It attracted educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. "What Manchester does today," it was said, "the rest of the world does tomorrow."
Manchester’s population exploded as people moved into the city from the surrounding countryside — and from other parts of the British Isles — seeking new opportunities. Particularly large numbers came from
Ireland, especially after the
Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) Potato Famine of the 1840s. The Irish influence continues to this day, and every March Manchester plays host to one of the world's largest
St Patrick's Day parades. It is estimated that about 35% of the population of Manchester and Salford has at least some Irish ancestry. Large numbers of (mostly
Jewish) immigrants came to Manchester from central and eastern Europe. The area, including Salford and Prestwich, now has a Jewish population of about 40,000. This is the largest Jewish community outside London by quite some way. To these groups may be added (in later years) Levantines (involved in the Egyptian cotton trade), Germans, and Italians. By the end of the nineteenth century, Manchester was a very cosmopolitan place.
Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Manchester was an important seat of radical, reformist politics. A famous meeting, held in furtherance of parliamentary reform, took place in St Peter’s Field on
16 August 1819. It was to be addressed by
Henry Hunt, a powerful speaker known as "Orator Hunt". Local
magistrates, fearful of a large crowd, ordered volunteer
cavalry armed with
sabres to clear a way through the crowd to arrest Hunt and the platform party. They lost control (some reports suggest that many were drunk) and started to lash out at members of the crowd. The officers of a troop of
hussars of the
British army were so appalled that they tried to restrain the volunteers. These events resulted in the (official) deaths of eleven people with over four hundred injured. The country was appalled. One of the dead had been present at the
Battle of Waterloo, and it was said that "Waterloo were a battle, but Peterloo (as the proceedings were satirically called) were nowt but bloody murder"
The so-called
Peterloo massacre became a ''cause célèbre'' for reformers. Manchester was a focus of the movement to reform the
Corn Laws (the Anti Corn Law League (ACLL) was set up in 1836 by Cobden and Bright), and later the Free Trade movement known as "The Manchester School" or "Manchesterism" developed. Peterloo was a spur to obtaining municipal incorporation in 1838, when it became a
municipal borough, soon after the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835 allowed this.
City status in the United Kingdom City status for the borough was conferred in 1853. The town obtained its first MPs after the passing of the
First Reform Act.
The first
Trades Union Congress was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, David Street), from
2 June 2 to
6 June 1868. Manchester was also an important cradle of the
Labour Party (UK) Labour Party and the
Suffragette Movement.
Manchester's golden age was perhaps the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Many of the great public buildings (including the Town Hall) date from then. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere contributed to a vibrant culture, which included the
Hallé Orchestra. In 1889, when county councils were created in
England, the municipal borough became a
county borough with even greater autonomy.
During this period, a deep canal (the
Manchester Ship Canal) was dug, 36 miles long, from Salford to the River Mersey at the port of Liverpool. This enabled ocean going ships to sail right into the Port of Manchester Docks (technically in Salford). The docks functioned up until the 1970s, with their closure leading to a large increase in unemployment in the area.
Trafford Park in Stretford was the world's first industrial estate and still exists today, though with a significant tourist and recreational presence.
Manchester suffered greatly from the inter-war depression and the underlying structural changes that began to supplant the old industries, including textile manufacture.
During the
Second World War Manchester was involved in heavy industrial construction — it was home to
Avro (now
BAE Systems) which built countless aircraft for the
Royal Air Force RAF, the most famous being the
Avro Lancaster bomber. The city was attacked a number of times by the
Luftwaffe, particularly in the "Christmas Blitz" of 1941, which destroyed a large part of the historic city centre and seriously damaged the Cathedral.
In 1974, Manchester was split from the county of
Lancashire, and the Metropolitan Borough of Manchester was created.
Recent history
Image:Manchesterbomb-devestation.jpg IRA.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|The devastation left by the [[IRA bombing.html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|The devastation left by the [[IRA">thumb|250px|right|The devastation left by the [[IRA bombing">250px|right|The devastation left by the [[IRA">thumb|250px|right|The devastation left by the [[IRA bombing
Image:Manchester Exchange Squares.jpg Exchange Square (Manchester) thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square..html" title="Meaning of Exchange Square.html" title="Meaning of thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square">thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square.">Exchange Square.html" title="Meaning of thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square">thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square.
At 11.20 am on Saturday
15 June 1996, the
Provisional Irish Republican Army PIRA detonated a large
1996 Manchester City Centre bombing bomb in the city centre. Whilst this bomb caused over 200 injuries, it caused no deaths, and the principal damage was to the physical infrastructure of nearby buildings. The consequent reconstruction spurred a massive regeneration of the city centre, with complexes such as the Printworks and the Triangle creating new city focal points for both shopping and entertainment. The following regeneration took almost a decade to complete, with the last part of the renovated Arndale centre opening in the Autumn of 2005.
In 2002, the city successfully hosted the
2002 Commonwealth Games XVII Commonwealth Games, earning praise from many sources. Manchester has twice failed in its bid to host the
Olympic Games, losing to
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta in 1996 and
Sydney in 2000.
Rapidly developing institutions attract
crime and disorder; see main article
crime and policing in Manchester.
Since the regeneration after the 1996 PIRA attack, and aided by the
2002 Commonwealth Games XVII Commonwealth Games, Manchester's city centre has changed significantly. Large sections of the city dating from the 1960s have been either demolished and re-developed or modernised with the use of glass and steel; a good example of this transformation is the
Arndale Centre. Many old mills have been converted into apartments, helping to give the city a much more modern, upmarket look and feel. Some areas, like
Hulme, have undergone extensive regeneration programmes and many million-pound lofthouse apartments have since been developed to cater for its growing business class community.
Culture
Image:Manchester Central Library.jpg Manchester_Central Library.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|[[Manchester Central Library..html" title="Meaning of 250px|[[Manchester Central Library">thumb|250px|[[Manchester Central Library.">250px|[[Manchester Central Library">thumb|250px|[[Manchester Central Library.
Nightlife
As in any large city, there has always been a thriving
nightclub culture in Manchester, but its place in the history of modern clubbing surpasses that of every other city in the UK with the possible exception of
London.
UK broadcaster
Jimmy Savile is credited as becoming the first modern
DJ by using twin turntables for continuous play after he obtained two domestic record decks welded together. He first used this device to play to the public in
1946, at a nightclub called The Ritz on Whitworth Street (which had opened in
1927). Tony Prince is credited as becoming the world's first full-time club DJ in 1964 when Savile, who was then a Mecca manager in Manchester, told him that
Top Rank considered him to be the first person to be on their payroll as a pure DJ.
Many
teenagers of the
1960s developed a love for
Northern Soul, which had as two of its epicentres the
Wigan Casino and Manchester's
Twisted Wheel Club, and is credited as being instrumental in the development of the
Motown Sound.
Rob Gretton, members of
New Order (the band formed from the remaining members of
Joy Division after singer
Ian Curtis' suicide) and
Factory Records boss
Tony Wilson opened Fac 51
The Hacienda on Whitworth Street in 1982. It quickly became the focus of
electronic music and the start of
house music, the
Madchester sound, and the
Ibiza scene, which all came together in the
Summer of Love in
1988. The Hacienda was also at the setting of the 2002 movie
24 Hour Party People.
Other historical clubs and nights in Manchester include
*"Naked under leather" — one of the UK birthplaces of
Electronic Music.
*"The Number One" — the first
gay rave/house club.
*"Bowlers" — home of
happy hardcore.
*"Paradise Factory" and "The Breakfast Club" at Manto.
*"Home".
*"Flesh".
*"Homoelectric".
*"Danceteria".
One of the oldest and most diverse venues is the
Band on the Wall, a live music venue in the
Northern Quarter area of the city. This venue was built around 1862 as the flagship pub of a local brewery; it was originally called The George & Dragon. It got its nickname in the late 1920s or early 1930s from the stage high on the back wall. In 1975 it was taken on by jazz musician Steve Morris and his business partner Frank Cusick, and renamed The Band on the Wall.
=Further reading
=
*Simon Reynolds ''Energy Flash: Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture'' Picador, 1998, ISBN 0330350560.
*Sean Bidder ''The Rough Guide to House Music'', Rough Guides, 1999, ISBN 1858284325.
*Dave Haslam ''Madchester, England'' Fourth Estate, 2000, ISBN 1841151467.
*Mick Middles ''From "Joy Division" to "New Order": The True Story of Anthony H.Wilson and Factory Records'' Virgin Books, 2000, ISBN 0753506386.
*Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton ''Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey'', Grove Press, 2000, ISBN 0802136885.
*Dave Haslam ''Adventures on the Wheels of Steel: The Rise of the Superstar DJs'' Fourth Estate, 2002, ISBN 1841154334.
*Sean Bidder ''Pump Up the Volume: A History of House Music'', MacMillan, 2002, ISBN 0752219863.
*Tony Wilson ''24-hour Party People'' Channel 4 Books, 2002, ISBN 075222025X.
Art
There are many
art gallery art galleries in Greater Manchester, notably:
*
Lowry Centre The Lowry in
Salford Quays (Salford), which houses works by the
Salford painter
L. S. Lowry
*
The Athenaeum
*
Salford Museum and Art Gallery (Salford)
*
Manchester Art Gallery
* The
Whitworth Art Gallery
* The
Chinese Arts Centre
*
Cornerhouse
* The
Castlefield Gallery
*
Cube Gallery
*
Comme Ca Art Gallery
*
The Barn Gallery
Museums
Image:ImperialWarMuseumNorth01.jpg The_Imperial War Museum.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|[[The Imperial War Museum..html" title="Meaning of 250px|[[The Imperial War Museum">thumb|250px|[[The Imperial War Museum.">250px|[[The Imperial War Museum">thumb|250px|[[The Imperial War Museum.
Museums in Manchester include:
*
Greater Manchester Police Museum
*
Imperial War Museum North (Trafford Park)
*
Manchester Jewish Museum
*
Manchester Museum
*
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester Museum of Science and Industry
*
Pankhurst Centre
*
People's History Museum People’s History Museum
*
Urbis centre, Manchester Urbis, a museum of city life
Classical music
Image:Lowry.jpg Lowry_Centre.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|[[Lowry Centre and the
Salford Quays development..html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|[[Lowry Centre">thumb|250px|right|[[Lowry Centre and the
Salford Quays development.">250px|right|[[Lowry Centre">thumb|250px|right|[[Lowry Centre and the
Salford Quays development.
Manchester is home to two
symphony orchestras, the
Hallé Orchestra and the
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. There is also a
chamber orchestra, the
Manchester Camerata.
For many years the city’s main classical venue was the
Free Trade Hall on Peter Street. Since 1996, however, Manchester has had a modern 2,500 seat concert venue called the
Bridgewater Hall, which is also home to the Hallé Orchestra. The hall is one of the country’s most technically advanced classical music and lecture venues, with an acoustically designed interior and suspended foundations for an optimum sound. Other venues for classical concerts include the
Royal Northern College of Music RNCM, the
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre and
Manchester Cathedral.
Manchester is a centre for musical education, being home to the
Royal Northern College of Music and
Chetham's School of Music Chetham’s School of Music.
In the 1950s the city was home to the so-called ‘Manchester School’ of classical composers, which comprised
Harrison Birtwistle,
Peter Maxwell Davies and
Alexander Goehr.
Popular music
{{main|History of popular music in Manchester}}
Image:Better late Oasis.jpg Oasis (band) 250px|thumb|right|The band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis who come from Manchester..html" title="Meaning of Oasis.html" title="Meaning of 250px|thumb|right|The band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis">250px|thumb|right|The band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis who come from Manchester.">Oasis.html" title="Meaning of 250px|thumb|right|The band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis">250px|thumb|right|The band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis who come from Manchester.
For Mancunians, the popular musical heritage of the city has always been a source of great pride. The city’s eclectic mix of music has created the sense among its inhabitants that Manchester is the most important city in world music.
Local groups have included the
The Hollies,
10cc,
Buzzcocks,
Magazine (band) Magazine,
A Certain Ratio,
Joy Division,
New Order (the previous three on local label
Factory Records),
The Smiths,
The Chemical Brothers (formerly known as The Dust Brothers),
The Fall (band) The Fall,
M People,
Oasis (band) Oasis,
the Chameleons,
Elbow (band) Elbow,
Simply Red,
Take That and the "
Madchester" scene bands
the Happy Mondays, The
Inspiral Carpets,
James (band) James,
The Stone Roses.
In
1965, on the
United States U.S. Hot 100, a unique hat-trick of
Number One number 1s took place in the
spring, all from Mancunian pop groups.
Freddie and the Dreamers spent two weeks at the top with "I'm Telling You Now" (between April 10–24),
The Mindbenders Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders one week with "Game of Love" (April 24),and finally
Herman's Hermits with "Mrs Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", a further three weeks (May 1–22), a total of six weeks, an achievement, never matched even in the
United Kingdom UK Top 50.
Manchester’s main popular music venue is the
Manchester Evening News Arena, situated next to
Manchester Victoria railway station, which seats over 21,000 and is the largest arena of its type in
Europe, voted ''International Arena of the Year'', beating
New York City New York’s
Madison Square Garden. Other major venues include the
Manchester Apollo and the
Manchester Academy. The many smaller venues throughout the city, such as the Bierkeller, the Roadhouse and Night and Day Cafe, ensure that Manchester’s music scene is always vibrant and interesting.
The famous American anti-war hippie
musical theatre musical from the late
sixties, ''
Hair'', includes a song entitled "Manchester, England" though the mention of the city in the song's title is somewhat irrelevant and merely used as punctuation in the song's lyrics.
{{seealso|List of bands from Manchester}}
Literature
Famous writers from the Manchester area include
Elizabeth Gaskell and
Anthony Burgess, the author of ''
A Clockwork Orange''.
W. G. Sebald lived in Manchester when he first came to England, and the city features prominently in his novel ''The Emigrants.''
Jeff Noon, the author of
Vurt, writes novels which take place in Manchester.
Charles Dickens was known to visit the city, and
Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels are known to have found much to inspire their thoughts and writing when visiting the city during the
Industrial Revolution.
Manchester is home to the
Manchester Metropolitan University Writers School, one of the top creative writing schools in the country. The Writer's Bureau — a private company set up to help new freelance writers through its home-study courses — also runs its offices from the city. Local poet and author Mike Duff has lived his entire life in the city; he is a passionate advocate of Manchester and its people.
Theatre
Manchester is noted for its excellent theatres. Larger venues include the
Manchester Opera House Opera House, a commercial theatre promoting large scale touring shows which regularly plays host to touring
West End theatre West End shows, the
Palace Theatre, Manchester Palace Theatre and the
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, a large producing theatre located in Manchester’s former cotton exchange. The
Library Theatre is a small producing theatre situated in the basement of the city’s central library and the
Lowry Centre Lowry is a large touring venue in Salford, and
Studio Salford, the Manchester Evening News-award winning theatre and music venue at Bloom Street, Salford.
Smaller sites include the
Green Room (Manchester) Green Room, which focuses on fringe productions and
Contact Theatre, a theatre for young people with a bold contemporary design. The Dancehouse is a theatre dedicated to dance productions. The city is also home to two highly-regarded drama schools; The
Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre and the Arden School of Theatre. In addition the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) has 4 theatre spaces especially noted for its opera and classical music productions.
Venues
Image:Evening_news_arena.jpg MEN Arena.html" title="Meaning of 250px 250px|thumb|right|The [[MEN Arena..html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|The [[MEN Arena">250px|thumb|right|The [[MEN Arena.">thumb|right|The [[MEN Arena">250px|thumb|right|The [[MEN Arena.
As well as many sporting venues Manchester has many venues for performances and conventions:
*
G-Mex
*
Manchester International Conference Centre
*
Bridgewater Hall
*
Lowry
*
MEN Arena
*
Manchester Academy
Media
Television and radio
ITV franchisee
Granada Television has its original headquarters on Quay Street in the Castlefield area of the city. The city is the main UK television production centre outside London and is where programmes including
Coronation Street and many
CiTV Children’s ITV presentations are produced.
The
BBC has its headquarters for Northern England in New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road in the south of the city. Programmes including
A Question of Sport,
Mastermind (television) Mastermind and
Real Story are made there. The BBC intends to relocate large numbers of staff and facilities to Manchester from London, once a site has been selected.
Manchester has its own television channel,
Channel M, owned by the
Guardian Media Group and operated since 2000. It has several local radio stations including
BBC GMR,
Key 103,
Galaxy Manchester Galaxy,
Piccadilly Magic 1152,
105.4 Century FM ,
Smooth FM 100.4 100.4 Smooth FM,
Capital Gold 1458 and
Xfm Manchester Xfm. There is also a
Community radio community radio network coordinated by Radio Regen{{ref|radioregen}}, and with stations covering the South Manchester communities of
Ardwick,
Longsight and
Levenshulme (
ALL FM 96.9) and
Wythenshawe (Wythenshawe FM 97.2)
Several now defunct radio stations are much lamented including "BBC Radio Manchester" — now BBC GMR, Sunset (which became) Kiss 102 (now Galaxy) and KFM which became Signal Cheshire (now
Signal 1). The latter three played a significant role in the city's emerging
House music culture, also known as the
Madchester scene, which was partly based around clubs like the
the Hacienda which had its own show on Kiss 102. There were also scores of
pirate radio,
Campus radio student radio (currently consisting of Fuse FM at the
University of Manchester and Shock FM at the University of Salford) and
community radio stations and initiatives in Manchester.
Film
Manchester is home to the Manchester film festival and has held the commonwealth film festival. This is a partial list of films set in Manchester:
* ''
Grand Hotel'' (
1932'')
* ''
My Son, My Son!'' (
1940'')
* ''
Hell is a City'' (
1960'')
* ''
Billy Liar'' (
1963'')
* ''
East is East (film) East is East'' (
1999'')
* ''
There's only one Jimmy Grimble'' (
2000'')
* ''
The Parole Officer(film) The Parole Officer'' (
2001'')
* ''
24 Hour Party People'' (
2002'')
* ''
28 Days Later'' (
2002'')
* ''
Millions'' (
2005'')
* ''
Control (Anton Corbijn movie) Control'' (
2006'')
Even
Hollywood has featured Manchester occasionally in its films, a fine achievement for an English provincial city.''
My Son,My Son!'', made in
1940, directed by
Charles Vidor and starring
Brian Aherne and
Louis Hayward, is set in Manchester, and in
MGM's all-star opus of
1932,''
Grand Hotel'', most of
Wallace Beery's dialogue seems to consist of him furiously shouting "Manchester!" throughout his entire part.
Manchester has also been mentioned several times in
GTA games series. Several references are made as well as
Macca a character in
GTA: Vice City came from Manchester.
Newspapers
The Guardian newspaper was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian''. Its head office is still in Manchester, though many of its management functions were moved to
London in 1964. It still shares a Manchester office on Deansgate with its sister publication, the
Manchester Evening News, Manchester’s biggest-selling daily paper. Free commuting papers include Manchester Evening News Lite and
Metro (Associated Metro Limited) Metro North West, both of which are available from
Metrolink stops, rail stations and other busy locations across the city at rush-hour.
Gay and lesbian
Manchester has the UK's largest gay population outside of London, and is renowned for its
gay village; centred around the
Canal Street, Manchester Canal Street area the gay village is home to various gay shops, restaurants, bars and clubs. On the last weekend in August it hosts the
Manchester Pride Festival (previously known as
Mardi Gras and Gayfest). Manchester’s gay culture was brought to mainstream attention in 1999 by the acclaimed and controversial
Channel 4 drama series ''
Queer as Folk (UK) Queer as Folk'', which was set in the village. It is also the birthplace of several gay rights organisations including the
Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the
Queer Youth Alliance. Manchester has its own gay sports teams, Village Manchester FC (
soccer), Northern Wave (
swimming) and Village Spartans (
Rugby football Rugby) which take part in Manchester's annual Pride Games. The year round [http://www.manchesterpride.com/whatson.asp?ID=96 gay and lesbian heritage trail] exhibits Manchester’s gay history. Manchester’s claim to status of gay capital of the UK was strengthened in 2003 when it played host city to the annual
Europride festival.
Education
Image:MMU logo.gif Manchester Metropolitan University.html" title="Meaning of 200px 200px|thumb|right|The logo of [[Manchester Metropolitan University..html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|The logo of [[Manchester Metropolitan University">200px|thumb|right|The logo of [[Manchester Metropolitan University.">thumb|right|The logo of [[Manchester Metropolitan University">200px|thumb|right|The logo of [[Manchester Metropolitan University.
Universities
Manchester is home to two major
University universities: The
University of Manchester and
Manchester Metropolitan University. The former is the largest full-time non-collegiate university in Britain, and was created in autumn 2004 by the merger of
Victoria University of Manchester and
UMIST. In nearby
Salford is the
University of Salford, which is within two miles of Manchester city centre.
With the
University of Bolton, the
Royal Northern College of Music and University Centre Oldham all nearby, Greater Manchester has a total student population of around 99,000, although the widely-held theory that this is a particularly large student population for an area of its size, or one of the largest in Europe, is a myth.
The
University of Manchester,
Manchester Metropolitan University and the
Royal Northern College of Music are grouped together on the southern side of the city centre, and effectively form one large campus, split down the centre by Oxford Road, the busiest bus route in
Europe.
Sport
Image:United-logo.jpg Manchester United F.C. 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United..html" title="Meaning of Manchester United.html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United">200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United.">Manchester United.html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United">200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United.
Image:Manchester City crest.png Manchester City F.C. 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City..html" title="Meaning of Manchester City.html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City">200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City.">Manchester City.html" title="Meaning of 200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City">200px|thumb|right|The badge of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City.
Sport and especially football are an important part of Manchester culture. Two major
football (soccer) football clubs,
Manchester United F.C. Manchester United and
Manchester City F.C. Manchester City, bear the city’s name. Manchester City play at the
City of Manchester Stadium, while Manchester United’s
Old Trafford (football) Old Trafford ground, the largest club football ground in England, is just outside the city proper in the borough of
Trafford.
It is commonly perceived that Manchester City have more local support than United. However, research by Manchester University a few years ago showed that United had 9,000 season ticket holders within the 'M' postcode area whilst City had 7,000. The Manchester postal district includes the (strongly United supporting) city of Salford but also Prestwich and Whitefield (with one of the largest City supporters club's) and areas such as Denton, where the Blues also have strong support. This research was done before City moved to the (larger, 48,000 capacity) City Of Manchester stadium. And well before the expansion of United's Old Trafford which will accommodate 76,000 by summer 2006. The truth is that nobody knows for sure which team has the most local support and that the figures are probably too close to call. What is beyond doubt is that United's nationwide and international support far exceeds that of City, so City have larger local support as a proportion of their fan base.
City and United are just two examples of local football teams: according to the
Urbis centre, Manchester Urbis centre, Greater Manchester has the highest concentration of football clubs per capita of anywhere in the world. Other professional football teams in Greater Manchester include
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. Oldham Athletic,
Stockport County F.C. Stockport County,
Bury F.C. Bury,
Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic,
Rochdale A.F.C. Rochdale,
Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers and
F.C. United of Manchester.
Many first class sporting facilities were built for the 2002
Commonwealth Games, including the
Manchester Velodrome, the
City of Manchester Stadium, the
National Squash Centre and the
Manchester Aquatics Centre.
Old Trafford (cricket) Old Trafford cricket ground, home of
Lancashire County Cricket Club, hosts many
first-class cricket and important international matches including Test Matches.
The Manchester area is also represented in rugby union by
Sale Sharks, who currently play their home games at Edgeley Park in
Stockport and
Manchester R.C.; and in Rugby League by
Wigan Warriors, who share the
JJB Stadium with
Wigan Athletic, and
Salford City Reds, who are currently in the process of constructing a new state-of-the-art stadium in Eccles, over the
Manchester Ship Canal from the
Trafford Centre. Manchester is also home to
Swinton Lions who play at Sedgley Park.
Belle Vue (Motorcycle Racing) Belle Vue Stadium in
Gorton is home to the
Belle Vue Aces speedway team and also hosts regular
greyhound racing greyhound races.
Manchester also has an
ice hockey team called the
Manchester Phoenix who are in the process of building an arena called the
Trafford Ice Dome. The city was previously home to the
Manchester Storm ice hockey club who in
1997 played in front of the largest audience ever to watch an ice hockey game in the United Kingdom when 17,245 people saw the Storm defeat the
Sheffield Steelers 6-2 at the
MEN Arena.
Manchester is a successful sporting city with many famous sporting people heralding from the city as well as from the surrounding area of
Greater Manchester. Manchester has also competed twice to host the
Olympic Games being beaten by
Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.
It was announced in 2005 that various sporting arenas around the city will be used in the
2012 Olympics.
Transport and infrastructure
Air
Image:manairpot.jpg Manchester International Airport thumb|right|300px|Overview of [[Manchester International Airport|Manchester Airport's Terminal 2..html" title="Meaning of Manchester Airport's.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|Overview of [[Manchester International Airport|Manchester Airport's">thumb|right|300px|Overview of [[Manchester International Airport|Manchester Airport's Terminal 2.">Manchester Airport's.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|300px|Overview of [[Manchester International Airport|Manchester Airport's">thumb|right|300px|Overview of [[Manchester International Airport|Manchester Airport's Terminal 2.
Manchester International Airport, formerly Manchester Ringway Airport, is the third busiest airport in the UK in terms of passengers per year{{ref.html">Manchester Airport railway station
a dedicated railway station. In 2005 the airport handled 22.1 million passengers and provided direct flights to over 180 destinations worldwide by over 90 airlines. Long haul scheduled destinations served directly from Manchester include
New York (
JFK and
Newark ),
Chicago,
Boston,
Philadelphia,
Atlanta,
Orlando, Florida Orlando,
Miami,
Houston,
Las Vegas,
Toronto,
Port of Spain,
Antigua,
Barbados,
Damascus,
Dubai,
Abu Dhabi (starting Spring 2006),
Doha,
Tehran,
Karachi,
Islamabad,
Lahore,
Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur and (resuming in 2006),
Hong Kong. There are also firm plans for direct services to
Beijing and
Bangkok. Many European and domestic destinations are served. Manchester to London is the only high density airline route within England and is one of the busiest domestic sectors in Europe providing serious competition for the railways.
The airport has been voted the best airport in the UK by
Which Consumer Magazine, Travel Weekly Globe, Business Magazines International and in the Airport World’s Service Excellence Awards (European runner up, 2nd only to
Copenhagen).
Barton Aerodrome, one of the world's oldest airports, is still in operation. It is very busy heliport and has small runways which deal with small aircraft.
Road
The main roads serving Manchester are the
M56 motorway M56,
M6 motorway M6,
M61 motorway M61,
M62 motorway M62 and
M66 motorway M66 motorways. Most of these routes link onto the
M60, Manchester’s orbital
motorway.
Image:Manchester Piccadilly.squiddly.jpg thumb|300px|A view from inside Manchester's busiest railway station, Piccadilly.
Railway
Manchester holds a pivotal position in
railway history as a birthplace of passenger rail travel on the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830 after the famous
Rainhill Trials chose
Stephenson's Rocket to pull the trains. In just 50 years the city centre was encircled by stations and termini, including
Manchester London Road Station Manchester London Road, (now
Manchester Piccadilly),
Manchester Victoria,
Manchester Central Railway Station Manchester Central and
Manchester Exchange Station Manchester Exchange. Following the
Beeching Report in the 1960s, cutbacks followed, with
Manchester Central Railway Station Manchester Central and
Manchester Exchange Station Manchester Exchange closing to passengers. All rail services were then directed to
Manchester Victoria and
Manchester Piccadilly. High speed trains to
London are run from Manchester Piccadilly by
Virgin Trains, journeys typically taking around 2 hr 15 min. There are also several smaller stations remaining around the
Manchester City Centre City Centre, including
Manchester Oxford Road station Manchester Oxford Road,
Deansgate railway station Deansgate and
Salford Central railway station Salford Central.
Although there is no
Underground Railway system similar to London's, the city has had several failed attempts to create one including the infamous "Picc-Vicc", a heavy rail tunnel linking the main stations. Excavation work under the
Arndale Centre for this project began in the 1970s, but was soon abandoned due to costs and rumours of 'subterranean obstacles'. This may well have referred to the '
Guardian' underground nuclear bunker network, originally constructed by NATO (as a means of protecting communications in the city in the event of an atom bomb being deployed) and now used by
BT.
The urban and suburban areas are covered by a sizeable network of rail lines, including lines to
Ashton-under-Lyne,
Bolton,
Oldham,
Stockport and
Wilmslow.
Metrolink
Image:manchestertram 500.jpg thumb|300px|A Metrolink Tram in Manchester city centre.
Manchester has a
tram system called
Manchester Metrolink Metrolink. Operated by
Serco, the Metrolink links the city centre to
Altrincham,
Eccles, Greater Manchester Eccles and
Bury. It is a high-frequency service, with trams running every 6–12 minutes. It carries nearly 20 million passengers each year.
Plans to extend Manchester Metrolink were reinstated after an election-time
U-turn (politics) u-turn by the Labour Government which had previously rejected the plans months earlier, despite years of support. The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive GMPTE), responsible for public transport in the area, led the fight to ensure that the extensions are to be built, with significant support from Local Councils and Communities, as well as the main
Manchester City Council [http://www.manchester.gov.uk/corporate/metrolink/]. If the desired system, nicknamed ''the big bang'', is completed, passenger numbers are predicted to more than double to an estimated 50 million per year.
A widely held view of many in Manchester of one of the major failings of the Metrolink is that it has never been extended to reach the
Trafford Centre (approx. 5 miles away in Trafford Park), with a wide possibility of routes for this task. The line from Manchester City Centre to
Eccles, Greater Manchester Eccles Town Centre is also judged by many to be a failure as it takes longer than an equivalent
bus journey following a similar route, but achieves this without the Metrolink's advantage of using 'Metrolink-only' specially dedicated / constructed routes.
Since Metrolink's inception and the initial euphoria at the huge success, by the public / local & national government / environmental groups it has become something of a victim of its own popularity. Many routes are extremely busy, especially at
Rush hour peak times, and prices have risen at a rate far above that of
inflation.
'''Warning:''' If you wish to take a trip on the
Metrolink you must purchase a ticket ''before'' the journey, from a ticket machine on one of the platforms. These ticket machines do not accept
credit cards or
debit cards, and many (half) do not accept
banknotes despite the high cost of some routes. You must therefore ensure that you have plenty of coins (£2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p) before travelling. However, if you have a valid train ticket which specifies a Metrolink station or "Manchester Stations" as your destination for that day, you can use this to ride
Metrolink to certain stops without needing to purchase an additional ticket.
Buses
Image:manxbuses.jpg Stagecoach_Group thumb|300px|[[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach Buses in Manchester City Centre..html" title="Meaning of Stagecoach.html" title="Meaning of thumb|300px|[[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach">thumb|300px|[[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach Buses in Manchester City Centre.">Stagecoach.html" title="Meaning of thumb|300px|[[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach">thumb|300px|[[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach Buses in Manchester City Centre.
Manchester and the surrounding area have an extensive bus network, with regular services in and out of the city connecting to all the satellite towns and villages. Maps of bus routes and a public transport journey planner for the Greater Manchester can be found on the [http://www.gmpte.com GMPTE website].
The city’s buses are operated by a range of companies including
First Group First,
Stagecoach Group Stagecoach (incorporating the lower-cost
Magicbus), Finglands, UK North (also trading as GM Buses), and R. Bullock. The major routes, with high passenger volumes, are well provided-for. These include Oxford Road/
Wilmslow Road, one of the busiest bus routes in Europe, bringing large numbers of students & commuters from
Fallowfield /
Withington /
Didsbury to the university buildings that have campuses scattered around the city centre, and the various office buildings — including the
BBC. Other routes that are not as commercially attractive, with smaller passenger volumes, are less well provided for, and the cost of a single journey can be similar to that of a Week Pass for the "South Manchester" journey.
First Manchester also operates free
Metroshuttle services which link important areas of the city, such as
Manchester Victoria,
Manchester Piccadilly Piccadilly and
Manchester Oxford Road station Oxford Road stations with Chinatown, Deansgate,
Salford Central railway station Salford Central, and Albert Square. These services are very successful and therefore often busy. At present, there are three routes, numbered 1, 2 and 3, and coloured orange, green and purple respectively. They run every 5-10 minutes and complement the Metrolink and National Rail services, linking them with the city’s car parks, tourist attractions and bus termini.
Those arriving at
Manchester Piccadilly Bus Station, and needing to take a
train from
Manchester Piccadilly, can choose either a
Metrolink or the free
Metroshuttle. It should be noted, however, that if one sits waiting on the
Metroshuttle for 10 minutes one could have easily walked the distance to the
Manchester Piccadilly Train Station Train Station, less than 1/2 mile away.
High frequency
articulated bus bendy bus routes include the
Bury-Manchester 135 service and the
Bolton-Manchester 8 service, which operate every ten minutes.
Manchester's principal bus station mainly for services on the south side of the city is at
Piccadilly Gardens, which is also served by
Metrolink and a short walk from the city's main train station,
Manchester Piccadilly Piccadilly. Shudehill Bus/Metrolink Interchange caters for routes mainly on the north side of the city and is within walking distance of the
Manchester Victoria Victoria station. Long-distance coaches — operated mainly by National Express — serve the Manchester Central Coach Station at Chorlton Street. This smart, modern station opened in March 2002 and replaced the old Chorlton Street coach station, on exactly the same site. The old station was notorious for crime and prostitution.
Water
Image:Bridgewater Canal Stockton Heath Warrington 01Aug04.JPG Bridgewater Canal.html" title="Meaning of 200px 200px|thumb|right|The [[Bridgewater Canal..html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|The [[Bridgewater Canal">200px|thumb|right|The [[Bridgewater Canal.">thumb|right|The [[Bridgewater Canal">200px|thumb|right|The [[Bridgewater Canal.
One legacy of the industrial revolution is an extensive network of
canals: the
Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal,
Rochdale Canal,
Manchester Ship Canal, which provides access to the sea,
Bridgewater Canal,
Ashton Canal, and the Leigh Branch of the
Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Today, most of these canals are used for recreation.
The Manchester area is supplied with water by numerous artificial lakes, built on the former small rivers around the city. In some cases these lakes form long chains, as in
Longdendale.
In the past, the city also had a "pressurised water" power supply system, a predecessor of the modern electricity network. Manchester also had Britain's first sewer network, which still exists today. This network may be one of the factors that prevents Manchester from having an underground rail system.
Commerce
Shopping
Image:Trafford_cenre.jpg Trafford Centre.html" title="Meaning of 200px 200px|thumb|The domes of the [[Trafford Centre the UKs 2nd largest shopping centre..html" title="Meaning of thumb|The domes of the [[Trafford Centre">200px|thumb|The domes of the [[Trafford Centre the UKs 2nd largest shopping centre.">thumb|The domes of the [[Trafford Centre">200px|thumb|The domes of the [[Trafford Centre the UKs 2nd largest shopping centre.
Manchester is one of the main retail centres of the
north of England North. There are two large shopping centres; the
Arndale Centre in the middle of the city and the out-of-town
Trafford Centre which includes food hall, multi-screen cinema and
Namco games centre. Other shopping centres include the Triangle (formerly known as the Corn Exchange Building) which caters for a more youthful and upmarket clientele and the
Royal Exchange, Manchester Royal Exchange Centre.
The city also contains two
Selfridges, a
Harvey Nichols, and the UK’s flagship
Marks and Spencer store. There is a large
John Lewis Partnership John Lewis department store situated eight miles to the south of the city centre at
Cheadle and from November 2005, at the Trafford Centre.
There is a selection of more established stores in Manchester city centre:
Debenhams has a large store on Market Street, while
House of Fraser owns Kendal's (formerly Kendal Milne), a large department store on Deansgate. The main shopping hubs in the centre of Manchester are Market Street, King Street, St Ann's Square and
Deansgate.
Former stores, since gone, include
Lewis's, Henry's, and Affleck and Brown. The building that housed the latter is now known as
Affleck's Palace Affleck’s Palace. It consists of low-cost stalls for independent traders and creatives. Affleck’s is located on
Oldham Street, in the
Northern Quarter, along with a range of independent music, clothing and other shops.
There is also a range of designer clothing stores, with the Triangle centre housing several.
Food and drink
Image:Boddys.jpg Boddingtons.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|The [[Boddingtons brewery..html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|The [[Boddingtons">thumb|250px|right|The [[Boddingtons brewery.">250px|right|The [[Boddingtons">thumb|250px|right|The [[Boddingtons brewery.
Manchester has a vibrant and exciting range of restaurants, bars and clubs, spanning the famous "curry mile" in
Rusholme to traditional ‘grub’,
Chinatown, Manchester Chinatown, modern bars and bistros at Deansgate Lock in the city centre. There are now many top class restaurants.
There is a
Hard Rock Cafe, chain restaurants such as
Wagamama and bars that include Waxy O’Connors and The Living Room. The coffee chain
Starbucks has 12 outlets in a 2 mile radius. Other, independent restaurants, bars and clubs can be found in the
Northern Quarter area of the city centre.
Regional favourites include the
Eccles cake. The traditional pie capital of the UK is supposedly at the heart of
Wigan, 15 miles outside the city.
Manchester is also famous for its beer.
Boddingtons brewery closed in 2005.
Keg 'Boddies' is brewed elsewhere but
cask Boddington's continues to be brewed in the city by
Hyde's brewery in
Moss Side. Hyde's is itself a long established independent brewery. Another Manchester brewer is
Joseph Holt, whose Derby Brewery in
Cheetham is just round the corner from the defunct Boddingtons Strangeways brewery. The Royal Brewery in Moss Side — not far from Hyde's — brews
McEwans lager.
J W Lees brewery is in
Middleton Junction, a few miles north of the city. Breweries in Manchester and Salford which closed within the last twenty years include
Wilson's, whose
Newton Heath brewery closed in the late 1980's, and
Whitbread/Chester's in Salford.
Places of interest
Architecture
Image:ManchesterTownHall_OwlofDoom.jpg Manchester_Town Hall.html" title="Meaning of thumbnail thumbnail|right|200px|[[Manchester Town Hall is an example of the
Victorian architecture.found in Manchester and is the home of
Manchester City Council..html" title="Meaning of right|200px|[[Manchester Town Hall">thumbnail|right|200px|[[Manchester Town Hall is an example of the
Victorian architecture.found in Manchester and is the home of
Manchester City Council.">right|200px|[[Manchester Town Hall">thumbnail|right|200px|[[Manchester Town Hall is an example of the
Victorian architecture.found in Manchester and is the home of
Manchester City Council.
image:2004-10-09 Midland Bank.jpg HSBC_Bank plc thumb|200px|[[HSBC Bank plc|HSBC Bank, on Spring Gardens..html" title="Meaning of HSBC.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|[[HSBC Bank plc|HSBC">thumb|200px|[[HSBC Bank plc|HSBC Bank, on Spring Gardens.">HSBC.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|[[HSBC Bank plc|HSBC">thumb|200px|[[HSBC Bank plc|HSBC Bank, on Spring Gardens.
Image:The B of the Bang, Manchester.JPG B of the Bang.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|right|The [[B of the Bang, a sculpture commemorating the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester..html" title="Meaning of 200px|right|The [[B of the Bang">thumb|200px|right|The [[B of the Bang, a sculpture commemorating the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.">200px|right|The [[B of the Bang">thumb|200px|right|The [[B of the Bang, a sculpture commemorating the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Image:St albert square2.jpg Albert_Square, Manchester thumb|200px|right|[[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square..html" title="Meaning of Albert Square.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|right|[[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square">thumb|200px|right|[[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square.">Albert Square.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|right|[[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square">thumb|200px|right|[[Albert Square, Manchester|Albert Square.
Image:Rbs building.jpg RBS.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|right|The [[RBS building in Spinningfields..html" title="Meaning of 200px|right|The [[RBS">thumb|200px|right|The [[RBS building in Spinningfields.">200px|right|The [[RBS">thumb|200px|right|The [[RBS building in Spinningfields.
Image:Urbis.jpg thumb|200px|right|The Urbis Museum & Garden
Manchester has a wide variety of buildings mainly from
Victorian architecture through to modern. Much of the architecture in the city harks back to its former days as a global centre for the
cotton trade. Many warehouses have now been converted for other uses but the external appearance remains mostly unchanged so the city maintains much of its original character.
Structures of interest in Manchester include:
* The
Bridgewater Hall, home of the
Hallé Orchestra
* The
Corn Exchange, Manchester Corn Exchange (now the Triangle shopping centre)
* The
G-Mex Centre
*
Imperial War Museum North by
Daniel Libeskind and Lowry Footbridge
*
Beetham Tower, Manchester Beetham Tower, due for completion in 2006
*
John Rylands Library, Deansgate
*
London Road Fire Station (Manchester) London Road Fire Station
*
Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, by
E. Vincent Harris
*
Manchester Town Hall by
Alfred Waterhouse, extended by E. Vincent Harris
*
Midland Bank building, King Street, Manchester Midland Bank building (now HSBC Bank plc), King Street by Sir
Edwin Lutyens
* The
Midland Hotel (Manchester) Midland Hotel
* Piccadilly Gardens by
Tadao Ando
*
Palace Hotel
* The
Portico Library
* The
Royal Exchange, Manchester Royal Exchange
*
South Manchester Synagogue
*
Strangeways Prison by Waterhouse
*
Sunlight House
* Trinity Bridge over
River Irwell by
Santiago Calatrava
*
Manchester Victoria station Victoria Station
* The
Victoria Baths, Manchester Victoria Baths
*
Urbis Urbis Museum designed by
Ian Simpson
Skyline
The tallest
skyscraper {{ref.html">London is currently under construction in Manchester. The 47-storey 561-ft (171-m) tall
Beetham_Hilton Tower.html" title="Meaning of London.html" title="Meaning of Beetham Tower, Manchester Beetham_Hilton Tower">Beetham Tower, Manchester|Beetham Hilton Tower on
Deansgate is due for completion in late 2006. As of 2005, the talles
