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Princess Street, MANCHESTER, M1 4LG

On the corner of George Street.

Yet another of Manchester's outstanding warehouses, this one grandly faced in stone so someone clearly had a bit of money. Perhaps Mr Dugdale, for Pevsner reckons it was Dugdale's warehouse. Built c1877-78, almost certainly to the designs of illustrious local firm, Clegg & Knowles. Pevsner calls the style "free European Gothic", and picks out the "striking open arcaded parapet and tall chimneys." The latter are prodigious and the feature which first catches the eye. Grade II listed. It is one of a sequence of particularly fine warehouses on this street, each occupying a whole block. It is currently the Arora hotel.

A serious bit of kit, looking forward to a spot of demolition, is being eased inch by inch into narrow Back George Street (not shown on street maps). The haulier is Bowler of Stockport. Lots more chaps in hi-vis clothing are out of shot. The view is west; on the right is the Town Hall. Another view is Image

This serious bit of kit bears the CAT logo and is dedicated to Steven Arkell 'Dad'. The yellow box at the back is labelled 'Armac Demolition'. It is being eased inch by inch from Princess Street, which it is blocking, into Back George Street (not shown on street maps). The haulier is Bowler of Stockport. Lots more chaps in hi-vis clothing are out of shot. Another view is Image

After 1882, The Royal Institution which had been based in the present City Art Gallery (above) transferred its art treasures to Manchester Corporation, conditional upon £4,000 a year being committed from rates by the Corporation to purchase further works of art. The original gallery soon became overcrowded, and after many other new sites had been rejected, it was decided to build the Athenaeum, immediately behind the City Gallery as an extension to the gallery's facilities. Charles Barry, who had designed the Art Gallery, was commissioned to build the Athenaeum. This time he chose a Tuscan Italian Palazzo style, quite different from the original, with a connecting entrance directly with the Art Gallery, and a separate entrance in Princess Street. This now forms a visiting or temporary art and craft exhibition space, with frequently changing and exciting shows on offer. Both the eminent art critic John Ruskin, and Charles Dickens gave lectures in this building. Now part of the main Manchester City Art Gallery - the subject of considerable refurbishment and a novel solution to joining two great Manchester buildings together.

Members of Greater Manchester Police join in the actions to the Village People's Y M C A on their float as it passes along Princess Street as part of the 2012 Manchester Pride Parade. Manchester Pride is the current name of the annual Gay Pride festival held Manchester. The event began in the second half of the 1980's as a jumble sale outside the Rembrandt Hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Pride ). It is one of the longest running in the country and attracts thousands of visitors to the city's Gay Village, which centres around Canal Street, each year. The ten-day festival culminates in "The Big Weekend", a 72-hour party in Canal Street and the surrounding area over the August bank holiday weekend. The Manchester Pride Parade is the highlight of the Big Weekend and the biggest Parade in Manchester! The Parade is promoted as a fun way to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Greater Manchester, the UK and overseas, and to raise awareness of the issues around HIV. More than 100 floats made their way through the city centre, setting off from Deansgate and ending on Whitworth Street at the gay village. The theme for this year’s Manchester Pride Parade is “Queer’d Science”, in honour of “Father of computer science, mathematician, logician, wartime code breaker and victim of prejudice,” Alan Turing. The gay computer pioneer was prosecuted for gross indecency for having relations with another man in 1952, when homosexual acts were illegal in the UK. He died from cyanide poisoning two years later and it was ruled at his inquest that he had committed suicide. A number of charities, venues, public sector bodies, housing authorities, political parties and commercial organisations take part in the parade each year. http://www.manchesterpride.com/parade Manchester Pride website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-19379394 BBC News.

Looking southwest - the sign confirms that this is an area of Manchester with many Chinese businesses. The next street crossing is the main A34, Princess Street.

On Mosley Street, near St Peter's Square.