The Grade 2* listed Great Northern Warehouse is now a lively leisure and shopping development with bustling bars, cafes and restaurants and an elegant landscaped public square. But it was once a neglected Victorian landmark and as the architects, planners and builders worked their magic, its fascinating history was uncovered . . .
The Great Northern Warehouse and its environs was historically a transport interchange for the massive volume of goods arriving by rail at Central Station- now GMex - in Manchester.
When building work began in 1885, the railways were booming. In fact, the railways did more to clear Manchester's fever dens than any social legislation. In order to build the Great Northern Warehouse - nine acres of streets, back-to-back houses, foundries, hotels, inns, a burial ground and a school were swept away.
The Warehouse was completed in August 1899 but operations started in July 1898 when only the ground and first floors were complete such was the demand for the goods station. Inside was a spaghetti junction of rail lines with five platforms and twenty five cranes. To facilitate the movement of goods, wagon turntables were incorporated at the end of the lines to allow wagons to be turned round. The Manchester and Salford Junction canal, constructed in 1939, ran under the Warehouse, passing through a specially-built dock.
Two 40-cwt lifts shafts were used to transport goods to each of the building's six levels, ready for dispatch to their next destination whether by canal or horse and cart.
The construction of the Warehouse, which was designed and built by Mr W.T. Foxlee was a typically Victorian design on a grand scale. The construction employed 800 men and used 25 million bricks, 50,000 tons of concrete and 1.5 million rivets.
When the goods station opened, 350 men were employed, with stabling for eighty horses beneath the viaduct. A model of efficiency even by today's standards, the station boasted that it could deliver any package received before 4pm to a station anywhere in the country by 8am the following morning.
But the Victorians, who were great fans of hiding anything they considered ugly or immodest (egg piano legs), disliked the appearance of the Warehouse so much, that the listed Deansgate Terrace, the longest in the UK, was built as a screen in 1900.
In 1922, the great Northern Railway was incorporated into the LNER (London North, Eastern Railway. This is commemorated by the retention of the signs on the Deansgate Terrace.
During the Second World War, the canal, which had been operational until 1922, served a very different purpose. The canal was drained in order to provide an air raid shelter for the public. The walls built across the canals to stop any blast going right through the tunnels are still there. It is planned to open these tunnels to the public.
After several decades of decline in the railways and the fall of the Beeching axe, the Warehouse was closed for good in 1963. In disuse even before then, it effectively lay empty for 50 years before developers Morrison Merlin saw its enormous potential.
After long planning negotiations, work finally began on Great Northern's £100 million metamorphosis in 1998.
Buildings at the Peter Street end of Deansgate were cleared to open up the site and create the smart Great Northern Square Manchester's first purpose design and built public square since the Second World War.
The Warehouse's original designer, Mr Foxlee, would be amazed to see its modern-day transformation. Architects, Leslie Jones, have created an impressive blend of original and contemporary features, which makes Great Northern quite different from other marble and glass-style leisure and shopping centres.
The 10-acre site, right in the heart of the city centre, now boasts smart bars like Bar 38 and cosmopolitan cafes like Café History, as well as restaurants and shops. The 16-screen AMC megaplex cinema and Virgin Active gym ensure that Great Northern is the place to be, day and night.
And a true sign of the times - instead of stabling for 80 horses there is parking for 1,200