Many shopping centres and department stores have come and gone in Manchester over the years, with some being so iconic that there's no shortage of people who would love to browse them one more time.
The MEN has looked back at a selection of department stores, markets and shopping centres that once stood in the city centre. Sadly, only memories and photographs of them remain.
It’s easy to understand why they’re so dearly missed when you remember the variety of items they sold and the bustling atmosphere they created on a weekend. Although the city's streets are lined with other places to shop, the below certain brought a lot of joy to generations of Manchester families.
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Kendals
We had to start our list with department store Kendals that proudly stood on Deansgate for over 170 years. The Grade II-listed Art Deco building contained concessions selling designer items, a food hall, beauty counters, extravagant window displays, and it even had an underground passageway.
Kendals was the go-to destination over the festive period, with its Santa's Grotto at Christmas time and huge Boxing Day sales. Over the years, it has had various names - including Harrods - when it was purchased by the company in 1919.
When the Harrods group, and therefore Kendals, was taken over by House of Fraser in 1959, the store continued trading as Kendals until 2005, when the House of Fraser name was adopted. Despite this, many Mancunians still refer to the department store as Kendals to this day and would love to experience a trip around the original Kendals one more time.
Market Centre
In the 1970s and 80s, Manchester was home to an underground shopping centre that had more than 100 stores. Shoppers could buy everything they could possibly need at the Market Centre, from clothing to vinyls.
Open until 1989, the shopping complex was said to be the only place to buy skinny jeans in the 1970s, with fashion boutique Stolen From Ivor selling Levi jeans there. As for music stores, there was Manchester Underground Records Import, Collectors Records and Spinn In Records.
Lewis’s
Lewis’s was one of Manchester’s first department stores. It opened on the corner of Piccadilly Gardens in 1877 and was the first Lewis’s outside of Liverpool where the company was founded by David Lewis.
The store sold everything you could think of, with shoppers spending hours browsing its many floors. Not only was it brimming with items, Lewis’s even had a ballroom on the fifth floor.
In 1991, the company went into administration, with Liverpool competitor Owen Owen buying several branches of the department store, but keeping the Lewis’s name. The Manchester store closed in 2001 and is now the huge Primark on Market Street.
Pauldens
Another department store many Mancunians would love to browse one more time is Pauldens. The store opened on Cavendish Street in the 1860s, bringing a new and luxurious shopping experience to the city.
Pauldens was the first store in the UK to be fitted with electric lighting, escalators, lifts and plate glass windows. That’s not all, though, as Pauldens was also one of the first stores to set up a delivery service using cars.
After suffering damage during the Manchester blitz, Pauldens moved to the iconic Ryland building. In 1957, the department store suffered another blow when a fire broke out following its refurbishment.
Pauldens moved to the former Rylands Warehouse on Market Street were it thrived until Debenhams took over the business and the Pauldens name was lost forever.
Old Smithfield Market
Before Smithfield Market moved to Openshaw in 1973, the old indoor market was based in the area now known as the Northern Quarter. It opened in the 1850s and served the city until 1972, selling fresh fruit and veg, fish, meat and flowers.
The old Smithfield Market was so popular that stalls spilled out onto the streets surrounding the covered market. Despite moving to Openshaw and still serving customers to this day, it’s not quite the same as browsing the original market for fresh produce.
Which Manchester department store, shopping centre or market do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments section below.
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