Princess Street, Manchester

Looking down Princess Street from Mosley Street junction

It is not clear whether the street was actually named after a princess and the second part of it once bore the name of David Street. Originally a residential street it became the site of many textile warehouses and large office buildings during the 19th century. Some of these have since been demolished but most have been converted to other uses.[1]

The road is two-way as it passes Albert Square, St Peter's Square and its tram stop. After Mosley Street, it becomes one-way southbound but with a contraflow bus and cycle lane. After Portland Street, it becomes briefly fully one-way southbound until Major Street, and resumes fully two-way. It then crosses the Rochdale Canal and the River Medlock before going under the Mancunian Way and terminating when it becomes Brook Street.

• Northern Assurance Buildings on the north side
• Manchester Town Hall on the south side
• The Athenaeum, on the north side, 1837, Grade II*, architect Sir Charles Barry[2]
• Princess Buildings, on the south side
• The Pickles Building on the north side, Portland Street corner
• Former Mechanics' Institute 103 Princess Street, 1854, Grade II*, architect John Edgar Gregan[3] (the location of the founding meeting of the Trades Union Congress and in the 20th century the College of Commerce and later the National Museum of Labour History).[4]
• Central House, on the south side
• Asia House on the south side, Whitworth Street corner, 1910, architect Harry Fairhurst[5]
• Lancaster House on the south side, Whitworth Street corner

• List of streets and roads in Manchester

• The Story of the Bale. Manchester: Lloyd's Packing Warehouses Ltd, Princess Street, 1926

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