The Royal Exchange, Manchester

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 31 May 2013

Manchester’s Royal Exchange is a grade II listed (http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=388116 – Images of England) Victorian building constructed between 1867 and 1874. It was used for commodities exchange, primarily but not exclusively of cotton and textiles. After modifications between 1914 and 1931 it became the largest trading room in England. The building was seriously damaged during World War II when it took a direct hit during a German air raid in 1940 and again when the 1996 IRA bomb exploded less than 50 yards away in nearby Corporation Street. Trading ceased in 1968, and the building remained empty until 1973 when it was used to temporarily house a theatre company. After repairs following the IRA bomb, the refurbished theatre was re-opened on 30 November 1998 by Prince Edward. The theatre's unique interior design features a seven-sided steel and glass module that squats within the Great Hall of the Exchange. As the floor of the Exchange would not be able to take the great weight of the theatre and its audience, the module is suspended from four huge marble pillars that also carry the hall's central dome (see Image] and Image]). Only the stage area and ground-level seating rest on the floor of the hall itself. The theatre can seat up to 700 people on three levels, making it the largest theatre in the round in Britain. (http://www.royalexchange.org.uk/page.aspx - Royal Exchange Theatre)

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