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Manchester City Centre
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| Wednesday
5 July 2000 saw us visiting the third largest city in England, Manchester.
This visit combined an examination of new commercial scale landscapes in
the urban environment (heavy on hardscape) with a general tour of the major
metropolis of northern England for shopping, sightseeing, and general 'acculturation.'
Manchester is a city of about 750,000 inhabitants; a major center for commerce
and manufacturing. Like many cities that depended on heavy industry, Manchester
saw a decline in its stature in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's but has since
begun to bounce back. |
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We noticed a tremendous amount
of construction going on in the city centre. Construction workers were
as plentiful as pinstriped types from the financial district. The city
is an amalgam of old and new, with Victorian buildings next to 60's paeans
to concrete next to post-modernist steel and glass structures. A former
railroad depot has been turned into a shopping/exhibition/conference center
(above and at right). The major department store, Mark and Spencer's,
which was mostly destroyed in a 1997 bomb blast, has been rebuilt in a
grand scale, with interesting details such as the stone water feature
(water not running) at bottom left, benches in the form of railway cars
(bottom center), and giant twirlers (bottom right) near the main entrance
to the store.
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| Manchester city
centre had numerous shopping arcades, office buildings, and various plazas.
While the city did not appear to have many street trees, there were a few
surprises in the form of wonderful rose gardens like the one below center;
St. John's Garden. |
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One of the most imposing buildings
in Manchester is City Hall (above left) which the image does not do much
justice. The construction elements most frequently noted were brick, stone
and concrete.
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On to Manchester
United Football Stadium
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Manchester City Centre
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