Gallery
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Lowry Expanse
© Sophia B Divine
Castlefield Expanse
© Sophia B Divine
Manchester Expanse
© Sophia B DivineHistory of buildings in the painting "Manchester Expanse"
Manchester Central, Windmill Street, Manchester
Manchester Central (Formerly known as the GMEX centre and Manchester International Conference Centre (MICC)) is an exhibition and conference centre housed in a former railway station in Manchester in England. The building was granted Grade I listed building status in 1963, but has since been downgraded to Grade II status. The complex started life as Manchester Central railway station, one of the city's main railway terminals. It was built between 1875/80 and closed to passengers on 5 May 1969.
In 1982 construction work undertaken by Alfred McAlpine commenced to convert the former railway station into an exhibition centre, and the G-Mex opened in 1986. In 2001 the Manchester International Convention Centre (MICC) was added to the complex, with an 804 seat auditorium plus breakout rooms and Great Northern Hall. During 2005 the company running the G-MEX and MICC was bought by Manchester City Council. In January 2007 the venue regained its old name of Manchester Central. Plans are currently being drawn up to extend the frontage down to the road boundary on Windmill Street.
The G-MEX Centre used to host high profile rock concerts, e.g. Factory Records Festival Of The Tenth Summer in July 1986 celebrating the 10th anniversary of Punk (appearances of The Smiths and New Order) and Manchester's own James in a 1990 performance. In June 1992 Irish band U2 played the final indoor show of their elaborate Zoo TV Tour at the G-MEX Centre. The G-MEX centre stopped hosting concerts in 1997 (the last one being performed by Oasis in December 1997), due to the popularity of the nearby MEN Arena which is Europe's biggest indoor concert venue. After a 9 year break, the venue was once again used as a concert venue in December 2006 with 2 shows by Snow Patrol, followed by 2 homecoming shows by Morrissey.
The G-Mex was also the venue for gymnastics, weightlifting, judo and wrestling during the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In September 2006 it was used by the Labour Party for their Annual Conference, moving away from the traditional seaside venue of Blackpool, Bournemouth or Brighton. In addition to the Labour Party, this venue has hosted such prestigious clients as the CBI, Ecofin, Lib Dem Party and, in April 2006, the Conservative Party.
Great Northern Tower, Watson Street, Manchester
The Great Northern Tower sits at the junction of Watson Street and Windmill Street. It's 26 storeys tall (90m to the top of its pinnacle) and was finished in 2007 costing a total of �32.8 million to construct. There are 257 flats plus retail units at ground floor level. The slope design emulates the pioneering work by Ian Simpson Architects, who designed no.1 Deansgate. The architects who constructed the Great Northern Tower were Assael Architecture Limited and the developer was George Wimpey.
Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester
Situated on Peter Street in the city centre, the Midland was built by Charles Trubshaw in 1898-1903 for the Midland Railway Company. It is situated next to the G-Mex Centre, Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Central Library. Its distinctive style is made of red brick and brown terracotta, with the exterior clad in several varieties of polished granite and Burmantofts (a type of terracotta). The building is grade II listed.
The hotel was regularly used by American cotton traders whilst they were on business selling their raw cotton to Manchester's cotton cloth manufacturers; the businessmen collectively referred to themselves as the Old Colony Club. One of the hotel's restaurants has been renamed The Colony in recognition of this fact.
The Midland Hotel was also allegedly coveted by Hitler as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain. The Midland is perhaps most famous for being the meeting place of Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce leading to the formation of Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906. More recent celebrity stays include Paul & Linda McCartney, The Spice Girls, The Beckhams, George Best, Tom Jones, Pavarotti, Mike Tyson, Jennifer Lopez, Prince Edward and Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister.
Central Library, Mosley Street, Manchester
Manchester Central Library is a circular library next to the extended Town Hall. The design was the result of a competition held in 1927 for a new library and town hall extension; the winner was E. Vincent Harris. The library was constructed between 1930 and 1934, but because of its traditional neoclassical architecture it is often mistakenly thought to be much older as it was based on the Pantheon in Rome. The pitched leaded roof appears from street level to be a dome, but this is only a surrounding roof. The dome that can be seen from within the Great Hall lies within this roof, and cannot be seen from the ground.
On the fourth floor is the Great Hall, a large reading room topped by a dome. Much of the original furniture designed by the architect can be seen on this floor. Around the rim of the dome is an inscription from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament:
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her, she shall give of thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory she shall deliver to thee." Proverbs 4:7
When the Central Library opened in 1934 a large lecture hall had been provided, with other facilities, to ensure that it would serve as an important centre of cultural activities for the people of Manchester. The unique size and location of the lecture theatre, seating 300, made it an ideal small venue for future performances. During the Second World War the theatre was used as a studio by the BBC and was restricted to engagements such as lunchtime commentaries from the Ministry of Information.
After the war, the Manchester Corporation Act of 1946 empowered the Libraries Committee to fully utilise the theatre for "lectures, exhibitions, concerts, displays, and the performance of stage plays for or in connection with the advancement of art, education, drama, science, music or literature".
A number of famous figures have been associated with Central Library over the last fifty years. One of Manchester's most famous sons, the conductor Sir John Barbirolli, was a regular user of the Music Library. Anthony Burgess, the famous novelist who wrote the cult classic A Clockwork Orange, was a regular visitor to the library during his school days. In a volume of his autobiography, Little Wilson and Big God (1987) he recounted his seduction at the hands of a librarian in the card catalogue. Morrisey, former lead singer of The Smiths, also studied in the library for his A Level exams. Having once tried to use the Language & Literature Library for an unofficial photo session, he was asked to leave by the librarian who did not know who he was.
Manchester's Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester
The building of Manchester Town Hall (1868 - 77) was undertaken because the neo-classical Town Hall in King Street had become too small to house the expanding business of the Corporation. 1877 saw the grand opening of the Town Hall in Albert Square at the same time the first horse-drawn trams were introduced. This most impressive neo-Gothic building cost a million pounds and is acknowledged as a masterpiece in its own right. It rises as a Victorian edifice - a monument to the civic pride of the city fathers, reaching 286 feet above Albert Square below.
Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, a leading contemporary architect, it was fitted masterfully onto an awkward triangular space - although not unanimously liked as the best looking design, it proved the most practical of the 136 other designs entered. Manchester had achieved city status in 1853, and was keen to show off its civic dignity. Inside it is lavishly and richly decorated, with mosaic floors bearing the "bees", symbols of Manchester's industry, and has wall murals by Ford Madox Brown.
At the front main entrance, a statue of the Roman Governor, Agricola, surveys the square. He had founded the original fort of Mamuciam, from which the city began in 79 AD, and is thus honoured by a statue over the main front entrance to the Town Hall. The building dominates Albert Square, with its monument to Queen Victoria's consort, and statues of some of Manchester's great men.
The view depicted in the painting, is the rear view of the building from Peace Gardens on Mosley Street.