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Then and Now: St Peter's Square

THEN: St Peter's Square in 1907

In fact, few people would argue that the square, standing at the heart of Manchester's civic and public life, illustrates the wealth and importance of the city in the early 20th century as much as it does today.

But would those same city fathers have allowed a purposefully-constructed urban space - and the even grander buildings that surround it - to be so dominated by traffic, thus creating the intrusion of noise and pollution to, arguably, make it look and feel a less appealing enclosure?

NOW: The Midland Hotel stands next to the library

In 1907, the year a public square was formed, there was still no Central Library. That didn't open until 1934, and immediately challenged the nearby Midland Hotel for architectural plaudits.

The library - a magnificent circular building with a huge portico supported by six Corinthian columns - has earned its reputation as one of the great monuments of Manchester.

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

What are your memories of St Peter's Square and the surrounding area?

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