#manchester

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.

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.

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 🥰