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Manchester city centre is rapidly changing – the buildings are getting taller, shinier and more expensive. But you don’t have to look far to realise that the city is also steeped in history.
If you’ve ever wondered what Piccadilly Gardens looked like before the ugly grey wall went up, or which shops populated Market Street before the Arndale, here are some photos of historic Manchester to help you step back in time.
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5. St Ann’s Square, circa 1900.
St Ann’s Square showing the statue of 19th century free trade advocate Richard Cobden. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
6. Shambles Square, circa 1900
Ye Olde Fyshing Tackle Shoppe the Coal Exchange (R) on what was Market Place. The Coal Exchange building was destroyed during bombing in WW2. The Ye Olde Fyshing Tackle Shoppe is now the Wellington Inn on Shambles Square. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
7. Market Street, 1931
This is Lewis’s Department Store which is now Primark. The archway on the left is where the Cafe Nero now stands on Market Street. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
8. Deansgate, 1931
Kendal, Milne & Co on Deansgate, which later became Kendals and is currently the House of Fraser department store.
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