STOCKPORT ROAD LEVENHULME seen on gloomy Sunday 31st of October 2001, looking south. In front of us, across the road, is St Peters Church. The metal security shutters of the shops on the left are pulled down. Street lamps of a type installed all over Manchester during the 1970's are about to be replaced with new style ones.

A 192 bus operated by Stagecoach is coming towards us. Before bus amalgamation in the early 1970's, this route was the 92, operated jointly by Manchester Corporation and Stockport Borough. In the first half of the 20th century, trams ran along here from Hazel Grove and Stockport into Piccadilly in the city centre.

May remembers getting around in the 1920's. Usually she would walk: "I went by tram if it was wet, and they had open top trams. The kids had to go upstairs when it was wet! I think the fare was tuppence."

STOCKPORT ROAD LEVENSHULME, looking north, with the Church Inn pub on the left. That's Barlow Road on the right - a cyclist is waiting for a gap in the traffic to turn right. It's a bright sunny day.

EWM says: This is a composite panoramic photo consisting of two photos. Can you spot the join?

ST PETERS CHURCH is another important landmark on the A6 in Levenshulme. It has an interesting entrance gate in reddish brown stone. A red post box stands in front of the church on the A6.

The 1960's style street lights are virtually the only modern element in this picture - By the spring 2002, these lights will have been replaced by new style ones, installed as part of the general upgrading of the A6.

Joyce talks about the 50's: "Most of the dance halls closed by about 11. The Levenshulme Palais closed at half past eleven. The milk bars had closed by then. Most people were in bed by 11.30. My dad, he was very strict. I had to be in by eleven o'clock. There was the clock on St Peters church, which chimed the hour. By the last chime I had to be in the house!"

STOCKPORT ROAD, the A6 is seen here on a dull and drizzly Sunday lunchtime in late October 2001. We are just across the road from St Peter's Church looking south towards the junction with Albert Road. Directly in front of us are the traffic lights at Cromwell Grove, which meets Stockport Rd on the left. As part of the general upgrading of the area, the building centre left is undergoing exterior renovation.

EWM says: Levenshulme on a gloomy Sunday lunchtime may not be everyone's idea of a cheerful place to be. The A6 through Levenshulme deterioriated in the post-war years, but the current regeneration being carried out by the A6 Partnership, Manchester City Council annd others, is intended bring about an improvement in the urban environment and all-importantly, a change in perceptions.

WE ARE STANDING at the corner of Cromwell Grove looking across Stockport Road to the side street leading to the Palace Night Club. It's early evening in November 2001, the night club, which occupies one half of the former cinema, has not yet opened. To the left of Hennigans is another Irish establishment, the Claddagh Cafe. To the right is the Topkapi takeaway, number 906 Stockport Rd. Just behind the Topkapi, next to the Palace entrance is a taxi company. The corner stone at the top says "Farm Side 1898".

May remembers the mid-1920's: "I went to the Palace cinema and saw Rudolph Valentino in a film. Everybody raved over him, I was about 17 or 18 at the time. That's the cinema we went to every week and saw some film or other. Sometimes you'd get two films and a news report with a proper interval."

Joyce talks about the early 50's: "There were lots of entertainments in Levenshulme, lots of milk bars and cinemas in a very small area. From the Levenshulme Palais, you went down Stockport road, as far as where the Arcadia Cinema was - just round the back of the Church inn. The actual building is still there, Arcadia sports. You went two little blocks and then there was another cinema, the Palace. Only one half of the building is there now, it's the Palace Nightclub. In the corner was the door to a bakery, and you could buy hot bread from the bakery. There was a little sweet shop, now a taxi company."

Rich says: "That's where they had a stage set up for the turning on the lights ceremony in December 2001."
Maria: "A lot of things happen in the Palace Nightclub, the Irish festival is based there."
Rich: "It was nice, you could get a pint at Hennigan's and watch the ceremony. There were dj's from ALL FM. There was the Lord and Lady Mayoress, one of the actors from Coronation street, and the mascots from United and City. There was an angel on stilts collecting for a charity."
Maria: "The United mascot is a red devil and the city one is an alien. We had some friends who moved to Levenshulme so they came as well - they have a baby. There was a big countdown with pyrotechnics on stage. It was a really nice event."

THIS IS LEVENSHULME STATION. We are standing on the northbound platform, and a train is just about to stop. This one is operated by private train company First North Western. Manchester Piccadilly Station just a eight minutes away. Going in the other direction, Heaton Chapel and Stockport are also just a few minutes train ride away. There are four tracks between Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport. Express trains use the middle tracks and local trains use the outer ones. Levenshulme Station was rebuilt when the line was first electrified in 1960. In the past, many suburban trains terminated at Mayfield Station - an overspill station next to Piccadilly (formerly London Rd) opened in 1911 and closed to passengers in 1952. The building is still there.

May remembers the 20's: "We got the train to go to Mayfield Station when I went to the School of Commerce. I went on the evening train to get there. Mayfield was a very old station."

Joyce says: "We used to go in a different cinema each time, to have a change of venue, every single one was individual in its own right. At the Arcadia cinema the trains used to make whole cinema 'shake rattle and roll', the Palace Cinema too. Like the Arcadia, it was built right up to the railway embankment. When the steam engines went past, the screen went haywire. Every train stopped at Levenshulme station and Longsight."

Rich: "Levenshulme train station is a real bonus, it'a really good aspect of living in town. It takes eight minutes to get into town. It's about £1.20 for an off-peak return. The station needs some money spending on it."
Maria: "The staff are very helpful and friendly. It's actually quite nice because there are lots of trees around it and there's lots of bird activity when you're waiting in the morning. They're good at maintaining the station and they act on any vandalism or graffiti immediately."
Rich: "The trains are often late, but they're reasonably frequent. If they were more punctual, it would be pretty much perfect."
Maria: "In the morning I can get the train from Levenshulme direct to where I work in Salford."

LEVENSHULME STATION and Albert Road is seen here looking from the top of Marshall Road. The Albert Rd Stockport Rd junction is just under the bridge. This railway line was first opened in the early 1840's, part of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. It was widened to four tracks later in the century. Further changes took place when the line was electrified around 1960 - a new reinforced concrete bridge replaced the old arched bridge, and the station buildings were altered.

Rich: "There's an image in the local history library from the same point. In this picture it looks as if the station building was completely rebuilt. There used to be an arched bridge but this one was rebuilt. We use the newsagents regularly, two or three times a week. I get on the bike on a Saturday morning to get the paper."
Maria: "From this bus stop you can get direct buses to Chorlton, we've got friends there. And there's a really nice lolly pop lady just here on the left. I often stop and have a chat with her in the morning."

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