The places that make Manchester: Manchester Town Hall, Manchester Central Library, Castlefield and more, with what is on there next.
Alfred Waterhouse's Gothic Revival town hall on Albert Square, opened in 1877, with a clock tower about 85 metres tall. Its biggest bell, Great Abel, strikes the hours. The building has been closed for restoration since 2018 and was scheduled to reopen in spring 2027, so for now you see it from the square.
A domed rotunda behind a columned portico on St Peter's Square, loosely modelled on the Pantheon in Rome. E. Vincent Harris designed it, George V opened it in 1934, and it reopened on 22 March 2014 after a refurbishment. It is still a working public library.
The canal basin where the Bridgewater Canal reached Manchester in 1761, under four railway viaducts built between 1848 and 1898. The Roman fort of Mamucium, founded around AD 79, stood on the bluff above, and part of it has been rebuilt. Castlefield Bowl, an outdoor arena, sits in the middle of it all.
The arts centre at Salford Quays, opened in 2000 and designed by Michael Wilford. Its Lyric Theatre seats 1,730 and the Quays Theatre 466. The galleries hold a collection of works by L. S. Lowry, the painter of industrial Lancashire, next to changing exhibitions.
A neo-Gothic library on Deansgate by Basil Champneys, open to readers and visitors from 1 January 1900. The reading room on the first floor is lit by tall windows and has stained glass by C. E. Kempe. It now holds most of the University of Manchester Library's special collections.
A museum on Liverpool Road in Castlefield, on the site of the world's first passenger railway terminus of 1830. Entry is free. The Power Hall is a permanent gallery, and there are temporary exhibitions. The 1830 station and warehouse are closed for restoration.
