The towers of Manchester rise like the trees of the forest

Not the most original title I know, but for anyone who remembers the skyline of the city at the close of the last century it is perhaps apt.

I make no judgement other than that when the height of buildings become such that the individual passer by is reduced to an insignificant presence something of the scale and beauty of the architecture is lost.

And yes, I know the economics of the practice, and its place in the history of the last two centuries of building design but it ain’t for me.

In the past going high was a statement of humanities relationship to a god, the need for protection against an enemy or just a political statement on the part of the owner, and was always limited by technology, but not now.

All of which was occasioned by my old friend Andy Robertson’s latest set of “pictures” which he sent over today.

Andy has been chronicling the transformation of the twin cities, and pretty much the rest of Greater Manchester for three decades and his collection is a remarkable history of the changes.  

More so because he will visit and record a derelict building and go back recording its demolition and the subsequent rise of the new development.

And yesterday on Deansgate he set about recoding just one tall tower from different angles, and then as afterthought threw in another.

Of course, for all those who look appalled there will be those who applaud the new towers as the representation of the age, and a statement of the degree to which the city remains economically vibrant.

I might add that slip back to the first half of the 19th century and much the same opinions can be found amongst those mourning the loss of so many 17th and 18th century properties which were being replaced by dark overpowering textile mills, gigantic warehouses, and the new railway viaducts.

But as someone once remarked ....... if you want to check out the economic prosperity of a place, "just count the number of cranes", which I know is not exactly the same as the level of prosperity or well being of the residents but that disparity has always been there.

So, choose your development and make your point.

Location; Deansgate

Pictures, “Yesterday at Deansgate”, 2024, from the collection of Andy Robertson