In some ways, Manchester reminded me of Cleveland. England's second-largest city grew up on the backs of laborers working first in textile mills, and later in iron and steel mills. Much of the industry is gone today, and their departure, plus innovations in sewage systems, has caused this notoriously filthy, disease-ridden city to be cleaned up. The downtown is vibrant and has a cluster of densely populated neighborhoods surrounding it, especially on the south side. Its suburbs (many of which were independent towns and cities that got overrun more than a century ago by Manchester's growth) are also pleasant and attractive (some aren't, like Ashton Upon Lyne). But the areas in between still bear the scars of abandoned factories, vacant land and troubled housing conditions of its post-industrial transition to a more service-based economy.

 

Of course Manchester, like most European/UK cities, is more densely developed and thus more pedestrian- and transit-oriented than Cleveland and most other American cities. Manchester grew into a major city in the 18th century when walking and horses were the dominant modes of urban travel, requiring a mix of land uses to be within close proximity. It's clear there are newly developed subdivided land uses. But for the most part, Manchester is striving to keep a healthy mix to encourage urban vibrancy. That is evident in the dynamic pedestrianism along Manchester's sidewalks.

 

I apologize for the quality of many of these photos, many of which were pulled off my video and/or taken from the scratchy windows of a Metrolink tram. And all were taken on a rainy, dreary day.

 

So here's Manchester...

 

Rowhouses over stores just west of downtown:

 

 

A restaurant in a covered alley:

 

 

Old (former City Hall) and new (mixed-use tower of housing and Hilton hotel):

 

 

A better view of the former City Hall, revived with aerospace exhibits as part of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI):

 

 

A MOSI mural:

 

 

MOSI's main entrance:

 

 

The tallest mixed-use (Hilton hotel & housing) tower in England:

 

 

Metrolink tram system's G-Mex station. G-Mex is an entertainment district:

 

 

These are of Deansgate Locks, a nightclub area next to the G-Mex station. In addition to the canal linking Manchester to Liverpool and the Irish Sea, you can also see stores built into the arches of an old railroad viaduct that now hosts Metrolink:

 

 

 

 

 

Manchester density:

 

 

The suburb where we caught the Metrolink tram, Altrincham. These views are of a station-area development just south of the station which once hosted railroad servicing facilities. You can see an old railroad underpass in one of the views:

 

 

 

 

The Altrincham station:

 

 

 

 

View from a Metrolink tram, with a First Group intercity passenger train in the background and lots of density all around. The blurred guy in the foreground is waiting for a Metrolink tram bound for another line, probably for the Eccles Line:

 

 

Downtown Manchester's bus transit hub:

 

 

The only surface parking I could recall seeing in Manchester's central city:

 

 

St. Peter's Square:

 

 

 

Some views of Manchester's rejuvenated South Side (OK, the first one is dominated by commie blocks, but I like the rest):

 

 

 

 

 

Part of a major development called Three Piccadilly Place, next to Manchester's main train station, Piccadilly Station:

 

 

Views of Piccadilly Station, including Metrolink's platforms below the railroad station's platforms:

 

 

 

 

Metrolink's main junction in central Manchester:

 

 

More Metrolink:

 

 

 

 

 

Marks & Spencer department stores are everywhere in England, and have a large presence in virtually every downtown area of any city at least 50,000 people in size:

 

 

Hotel Piccadilly:

 

 

Some people shy away from the camera. Some people don't:

 

 

More businesses built into bridges of active railroad lines (these are just too damn cool):

 

 

Self-explanatory:

 

 

Garden-variety Manchester city scenes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all folks. More of Europe/UK coming soon....

Looks dreary ;)

 

Lots of good music has come out of that place!  Must be a very inspirational place to live!

Perhaps more English than London.

"please do not distract the driver whilst the tram is moving"

 

Yes, I love the "whilst"

 

The use of proper English is something up with which we will not put.

I really love how the europeans integrate old and new architecture into their city's and neighborhoods.

This is very cool...

an interesting place. from the trains and all it looks pretty londonish. that old city hall is quite odd for a city hall, looks more like a market from the get go. the modern hilton tower is very sharp looking. what else? marks and spencer is the only place i bought any clothing for myself while in england. hmm. and they sure love their canals don't they?

 

speaking of manchester music -- one more thing that crossed my mind --- would have been cool to hang out at hacienda club there back in the day:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Records

There were two buildings that looked very similar, and they were next to each other. One was the former City Hall turned aerospace exhibit for MOSI. The other might have been a market but was vacant. I'll have to look at the video sometime to see which one was which. But the point is the former City Hall looks very much like an old market. So much so that I thought it was a market at first glance.

Wow, Manchester looks like an amazing city! And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only New Order/Joy Division fan on here.

You're not. And yes, Manchester was pretty cool. But there were other cool cities, towns and villages in the UK, some of which you've probably never heard of. I just haven't gotten around to posting pics of them yet.