Riverside - New
Bailey Street
Riverside is an office
complex between New Bailey Street and the Trinity Bridge
and the River Irwell and Browncross Street in
Salford. It was designed by the architectural
practice of Leach Rhodes Walker and built in 1967.
It is made up of five
interlocking buildings four of which were named after
font styles, possibly reflecting the fact that the
Manchester Evening News was one of the original
occupants.
West Riverside was a
later addition, in 1975, built by the architects as
their office. Today the whole complex is called
Riverside and is part of the Bruntwood offering of
office space in the city centre.
John J. Parkinson-Bailey, in his book "Manchester - An Architectural History", describes the buildings as "five storeys ... of reinforced concrete with an exposed aggregate finish, which helps to reduce the effects of staining." He adds that the achitects office buildings is, "two storeys, clad in polished black granite - no bare concrete for them. Internally, oak panelled and gentlemanly." It can be glimpsed in the image below behind the "Doves of Peace" statue.
John J. Parkinson-Bailey, in his book "Manchester - An Architectural History", describes the buildings as "five storeys ... of reinforced concrete with an exposed aggregate finish, which helps to reduce the effects of staining." He adds that the achitects office buildings is, "two storeys, clad in polished black granite - no bare concrete for them. Internally, oak panelled and gentlemanly." It can be glimpsed in the image below behind the "Doves of Peace" statue.
An aerial photograph of the the site in 1953 shows quite a few gaps where buildings had been demolished or were perhaps victims of WWII bombing. I have shown the site by adding a red rectangle to the photograph.
Below is another aerial
view from the 1930s.
In the 1880s the site
was a mixture of industrial / commercial and
residential. It was home to manufacturers of
textiles, soap, and lubricating oils as well as several
shops, a pub and tenements.