Old Withy Grove area photos

255 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by VDB, Apr 14, 2014

Maxants

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2014

One of the great things about podiatry is that you get to chat to older people for long periods of time. After posting about With Grove the other day, I decided to ask older patients at the clinic what they remembered about the area. I got some good stories. One thing I really liked was that a couple people described it as a place you could go and find ANYTHING - live chickens, hats, antiques or things that you just couldn't find anywhere else - Manchester's most eclectic market area.

I found some great photos from the area. These are all taken from the area where the Arndal, M&S and No1 Deansgate now sit. It was tough to find anything! The area is poorly recorded I gather....

Present day...

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future.architect

· #2 · Apr 13, 2014

It was certainly an interesting place, but where would we have built a modern shopping area if not here?

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Maxants

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 13, 2014 (Edited)

In the courtyards of Strangeways! Cant say I use or feel much warmth to modern shopping areas (I shop at Unicorn and charity shops mostly :lol: Wait, am I a hipster?)

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tomegranate

· #4 · Apr 13, 2014 (Edited)

future.architect said:
It was certainly an interesting place, but where would we have built a modern shopping area if not here?

In an alternative history where the stars aligned differently, Piccadilly Plaza would have been better. Huge area wrecked by war bombing. The site could easily have hosted a shopping centre AND the real-life offices and hotels.

Bang outside the main bus station. Better placed to have kept Oldham Street from running down as well. The area of the Arndale could've been left alone to eventually evolve to be a part of the NQ, as someone said on here recently. An even older warren of interesting streets and buildings. The closest thing we would have had to an equivalent to the Gothic Quarter.

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VDB

· #5 · Apr 14, 2014

I would do anything, anything, to get into a time machine and visit 'Old Manchester'.

I would then do anything, anything again, to get into a time machine and ask those folks in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s just what they thought they were doin'.

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