IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Todd Street, MANCHESTER, M3 1WU

Metrolink tram number 3039 crosses Corporation Street and Long Millgate as it approaches the entrance to Manchester's Victoria Station. The extra track, recently laid to the right hand side, is for the "Second City Crossing" which is currently being constructed.

The core of the new Indigo Hotel under construction.

The new Indigo Hotel under construction.

Viewed here from Cathedral Gardens, Hotel Indigo is a modern hotel at the gateway to Manchester's Northern Quarter. It was built in 2018, adjoining the Grade II-listed City Buildings (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1380200 Historic England). Manchester History Net https://manchesterhistory.net/architecture/2010/indigohotel.html has some photos taken during the construction phase.

The Bronze statue of Robert Owen extending his hand to a crouching child stands on a white granite pedestal which is placed on a brick base outside the Co-Operative Bank headquarters on Balloon Street. The statue was commissioned by the Co-operative Bank as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations to mark the birth of the modern co-operative movement. It is a copy of the one erected in Owen's birthplace, Newtown in 1956. Owen is acknowledged as one of the formative influences on the development of co-operation in Britain. He also had a direct connection with Manchester, having managed a cotton mill in the city (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen Robert Owen page on Wikipedia).

Metrolink works on Corporation Street.

The building at the corner of Todd Street and Corporation Street dates from between 1865 and 1875; its name, “City Buildings” suggests that it was a speculative or intended multiple-occupancy building and, according to Historic England’s listing text https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1380200 , it was used as a warehouse, shops and offices. Its design is similar in style to the nearby Victoria Station. The building is Grade II-listed (Historic England List Entry Number: 1380200 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1380200 ). It became vacant in 2004 and fell into disrepair, becoming somewhat dilapidated by the time this photograph Image] was taken in 2011. Planning permission for the construction of a 178-bedroom glass-fronted hotel and restaurant on the site was granted in 2012 (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/plan-to-turn-run-down-building-into-a-26m-679600 Manchester Evening News, 12 Jan 2012). This has involved demolishing the former post office behind the building, restoring the building’s sandstone façade to its Victorian glory, and building a further 14 storeys on top of it (the circular building behind). The City Buildings can be seen under scaffolding in Image, taken in 2015 when the area was being redeveloped.