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Then and Now: Deansgate

THEN: Deansgate in 1935

They signal the changes that Deansgate has undergone in the past 69 years, evolving from a commercial centre to include leisurely past times like dining out and shopping.

And the huge five-storey building called Houldsworth Hall, which dominates the earlier picture, also has a long and colourful past.

The busy and vibrant corner façade of the historic Houldsworth Hall has become a more anonymous, whitewashed frontage.

And though many shoppers pass by this building on their way to Kendals now, it played a key part in Manchester's social history during the twentieth century.

During the blitz, it became a temporary home to the Manchester Reform Synagogue for seven years until 1948, when the group moved back to their original building on Park Place.

NOW: A great place for dining out

More recently, ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Bill Wyman opened a second branch of his famous Sticky Fingers restaurant at the site in 1996.

But after visits from such high profile stars like David Beckham and Barry Manilow, it closed a few years later in 1999.

Now the corner frontage of Houldsworth Hall is dominated by the Italian restaurant Bella Pasta, which adds to the growing number of dining venues on Deansgate.

Opposite stands Kendal's department store, a monumental block with vertical strips of greenish glass blocks as windows, built in 1939.

And together with the abundance of bars dotted along the road, they show the lifestyle changes that have taken place since the times of the elegant businessmen huddled on the street corner.

What are your memories of Deansgate? Have your say.

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