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Then and Now: Peter Street

THEN: Peter Street in 1907

Designated as a conservation area in 1973, many of the buildings on the square are distinctive and have an air of civic grandeur.

The early YMCA establishment, shared with Piano and Organ dealer JA Cross, does not seem entirely suited to sports activities. Designed in a classical style with four Corinthian columns, the building is now the Theatre Royal, and it stands next to the later YMCA building.

The YMCA moved to St George's House, a five-storey building on Peter Street designed by Woodhouse, Corbett and Dean in 1907 and finished in 1911.

The bottom of the YMCA building has brown cladding with buff terracotta above.

NOW: Buildings still have a distinctive look

The inclusion of swimming baths, a gym and other sports facilities can be traced back to New York buildings like the Brooklyn YMCA, designed in 1885.

But everything was unfortunately removed when the Grade II listed building was converted to offices in the 1990s.

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 Pter Street? Have your say.

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