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Then and Now: Piccadilly

THEN: Piccadilly in 1940

The older picture captures a moment of peace before the storm of war brought death and destruction to the city.

It was taken in 1940, shortly before the Blitz as the area's businesses continued to trade under the growing threat.

A strong sense of civic pride, coupled with ambitious reconstruction plans, have always been a feature of the city's ability to meet a challenge on the way to becoming a bright metropolis of the future.

NOW: New buildings are springing up

Today, the area of Piccadilly around Gore Street is not only a gleaming example of the commercial district it has always aspired to be, but a short distance away is the impressive Malmaison Hotel, and the multi-million pound revamp of nearby Piccadilly Railway Station that both manage to show how all the ambitions of the past came to fruition.

The archive photograph is part of a collection chronicling the changing face of Manchester during the past 250 years on a computer at Manchester Central Library.

What are your memories of Piccadilly?

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