Cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see.

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Apollo Theatre / O2 Apollo Manchester (Hyde Road entrance), 2025

A derelict, white Art Deco building with boarded-up windows and graffiti on its facade. Four cars are parked in front. A street sign and lamp post are visible on the pavement. The sky is partly cloudy.

The side entrance to the O2 Apollo Manchester, the main entrance featuring a glazed white terracotta façade on Stockport Road. Why two entrances? UKmender on Cinema Treasures explains:

…the entrance on Hyde Road was a common ploy used where many cinemas were located at busy corners. Though the main frontage is on Stockport Road, it was originally thought advantageous for the building to also have a presence on Hyde Road, directly opposite the popular Manchester Hippodrome theatre.

(…)

Both entrances were, originally, similarly decorated and both contained box-offices. The Hyde Road entrance also gave access to the integral cafe and ballroom. Some attempts were made to run it as a separate venue but it is currently abandoned.

Notice, too, the barely visible Club signage on the left side of the building.

Hurricane Room signage, London, 2026

Vertical sign over a black door reads Hurricane Room Pool Bar Snooker with six green dots and one white dot. There’s an arrow pointing right at Entrance. A “For Sale” sign is on the door. A warning notice is on the wall above right.

Norvic House, Manchester, 2025

A busy street scene with people walking past shops, including a comic shop and a record shop, at the base of a modern building with large blue and white windows. Older brick buildings and parked cars line the street under a partly cloudy sky.

A three-storey building with blue and white panels above colourful graffiti-covered shopfronts, including Vinyl Revival and Hilton Aqua Emporium. The upper floors have many windows, and a small statue stands on the roof’s far right corner.

Former 1960/70’s office building in the heart of the Northern Quarter, if I may permit myself to slip into estate agentese.

Featured: Centrální sklad obuvi, Zlín, Czechia

A large industrial brick building with many windows stands near two tall chimneys. Car parks and cars surround it. Green hills, trees, and scattered houses fill the background under a clear sky. — Photo credit: Herbert Frank (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

In today’s Wikipedia rabbit hole, I’m looking at the Centrální sklad obuvi in Zlín, Czechia. Slender-framed windows, external fire escapes, and its use as an innovative logistics hub piqued my interest.

Designed by architect Vladimír Kubečka and built between 1949 and 1955, it was the first attempt in the former Czechoslovakia to build a modern warehousing facility.

It is part of a larger complex of factory buildings (it’s colloquially called building number 34, the larger building in the photo above, with number 33 to the left of it) in the industrial city of Zlín.

Late last week, a fire broke out in the warehouse, leading to its partial collapse but no injuries or loss of life. The remains of the building are unlikely to be saved and are awaiting demolition.

It reminded me of warehouses of mail-order stores in central Manchester, such as Great Universal Stores (which at one point used to operate the credit agency Experian, if that qualifies as a fun fact) and others. These are now primarily converted to modern offices or housing.

Manchester Technology Centre, 2025

Aerial view of a modern white building with large windows, rooftop equipment, and adjacent brown structure. The foreground features a landscaped garden with trees, bushes, curved pathways, and benches. Tall glass office buildings rise in the background.

Low-angle view of a modern, white façade building with large rectangular windows and vertical columns. Reflections of nearby buildings are visible in the glass. The structure has a geometric and minimalist architectural style.

Pariser Building, Manchester, 2025

A multi-storey building with a green roof, red brick and glass facade stands behind a smaller, dark brick building. Trees and shrubs grow nearby along a paved path under a grey sky.

Manchester Arndale car fortress, 2025

View looking up at intersecting concrete and metal structures of a car park against a cloudy sky. The architecture features curved and angled lines, creating a geometric pattern. Vertical and horizontal elements add depth and modern, industrial character.

A beige multi-storey car park with horizontal metal railings on each level, dark and light window panels, and glass shopfronts on the ground floor. The sky is overcast, and the building appears vacant and functional.

A circular concrete car park is shown from a low angle, looking up towards the open sky. Multiple levels feature metal railings and fluorescent lights, creating a pattern of repeating geometric shapes and lines.

View looking upward from the centre of a circular, multi-level concrete car park. Spiral ramps and metal railings encircle an open skylight, revealing a cloudy sky above. Vertical support columns and geometric lines dominate the architectural structure.

Most (normal) people would have their betrothed as their iPhone wallpaper, or perhaps a beloved pet, but no, not me – I have the Manchester Arndale ramp on my lock screen 🥰

Lowry House, Manchester, 2025

A tall, modern office building with dark-tinted windows and geometric lines rises against an overcast sky, viewed from a low angle. The structure features a mix of concrete and glass on its angular façade.

A low-angle view of a concrete Brutalist building with rectangular windows. A tree with green foliage stands in the foreground on the right, whilst the sky above is grey and overcast. The architecture features sharp lines and minimal decoration.

Multistorey car fortress, Shoreditch, London, 2026

A multi-storey building at night features bold graffiti-style text on each balcony. The ground floor houses an American car wash with red, black, and white signage, brightly lit. Several cars are parked nearby under streetlights; the sky is dark.

Previously captured in daytime.