The Manchester skyline and surrounding landscape are always shifting and evolving year after year, with new buildings being erected and recognisable old corners getting facelifts, but sometimes the winds of change blow so hard that once familiar landmarks are completely flown from our memories.
It’s just the way the metropolitan cookie crumbles sometimes; being a city as innovative, progressive and fast-growing as we are means that the Manc face is always shifting, but it only further adds to our ever-unfolding history and heritage.
But just because things change doesn’t mean we forget entirely – sometimes we just need the memory jogging with helpful little articles like, oh, this one for instance.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up just a small handful of the forgotten Manchester landmarks, sculptures and points of interest from the past that may have slipped your mind. Let’s start with one that
Old Manchester landmarks and sculptures you may have forgotten
The Wheel of Manchester
The wheel lit up at night in Piccadilly.You could get a pretty great view even from Exchange.Credit: Stephen Gidley/Mikey (via Flickr)
Yes, remember when Manchester had its own London Eye? Well, the ‘Manchester Eye’, the ‘Big Wheel’ or whatever you preferred to call it when it still graced our streets.
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For anyone struggling to recall it, the transportable Ferris wheel used to stand pride of place in Piccadilly Gardens before moving to Exchange Square in front of Selfridges and just across from the Arndale – right around where you’ll find various pop-up stalls and many of the Christmas Markets these days.
First assembled back in 2004 before being made a whole 60 metres bigger in 2007, it ultimately began being dismantled in 2012 ahead of the celebrations for the London Olympics and various works on the Metrolink tram line. It had several sponsors in its lifetime but took its final spin in 2015. RIP.
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Market Street Obelisk
Just seen this on @TheMancUK FB page. Absolutely blew my mind…. zero recollection of this at all. Couldnt have been up for long 🤔🤔🤔. Can remember the Market Street Mincer clear as day but not the Market Street Obelisk. Make it make sense 🫠🫠🫠(pic taken in 96) pic.twitter.com/1qSsonaxTB
Next up is one that is still technically around but now seems like it couldn’t have possibly sat in its original location: the Market Street Obelisk.
Placed there in the 90s, the idea was supposed to help give Manchester’s main high street a more market town feel – think a kind of focal point in the middle of a town square – and although it did provide an easy meeting spot on lunch breaks, it was ultimately prone to little more than loitering.
The pillar was ultimately removed in 1997 and then moved to Crumpsall Park where it still remains to this day and, dare we say it, the obelisk looks much better in its current location than it did on Market St.
Perhaps more commonly known as the ‘Big Horn’ back in the day, it still feels like only yesterday that we were walking down towards the corner of Tib and Thomas St in the Northern Quarter and looking up the remaining structures of the old hat factory building and the trombone-shaped sculpture hanging off it.
Designed by artist David Kemp back in 1999 as part of his ‘Unsound Instruments’ series, we’ll admit it always looked a bit random but we still had a lot of affection for it and it certainly served as a bit of natural signposting in the district.
After the plot it was on was bought out, the sculpture was donated to Manchester city council in 2017 and although it’s not too long ago since we said goodbye to it, this thing could even be tooting its way back into our lives someday soon…
One of the more recently forgotten Manchester landmarks.
B of the Bang
The penultimate point of interest on our list is the immortally interesting sculpture and just as intriguingly titled B of the Bang by artist Thomas Heatherwick, which we still just commonly refer to as ‘the big spikey thing’ when it seems to come up in conversation.
It felt like we’d wiped this from our hard drives completely at one point as it seems strange to think that this (respectfully) death trap stood near walkways towards what would ultimately become the Etihad Stadium, close to passing traffic and was even green-lit to begin with, to be honest.
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Inspired by sprinter Linford Christie’s description of a starting gun and commissioned in honour of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, it ended up costing a total of £1.42 million to build – twice as much as was originally intended – and was finished in 2005, but it only lasted four years after spikes started falling off.
SportCity’s once eye-catching sculpture.The B being dismantled in 2009 over safety concerns.Credit: Nicholas Smale (via Flickr)/Mike Peel (via Wikimedia Commons)
Belle Vue Zoo and fairground
Last but not least, this blast from the past might pre-date many of you (ourselves included), but it’s still pretty mad to think that long before Belle Vue Sports Village served its modern function, it was once a zoological garden, amusement park and all-North West tourist attraction.
Yes, even before its days as a speedway stadium and greyhound arena – which was finally phased out in 2015 after decades as a much-loved pastime for locals – Belle Vue used to house exotic animals from all over the world, feature a number of classic fairground rides and serve as an exhibition hall.
Belle Vue Zoo eventually closed in September 1977 after the owners could no longer afford to run it, though the amusement park itself remained open during supper periods until around 1980. The land was finally sold in 1982 and now, the best of a half-century later, it’s a far cry away from what
Credit: Local Image Collection (via Flickr)Credit: Chetham’s Library (via Flickr)You could argue this is one of the Manchester landmarks that has already been forgotten by most simply due to the passage of time.
Now, as always with these round-ups, it goes without saying that this is by no means an exhaustive list and given how much Manchester changes from month to month, let alone over the course of a full year, we’re sure there’ll be a few more added to it by the next time you read this.
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That being said, if there are any glaring omissions that you think we’ve overlooked then feel free to give us hell in the comments – that’s what they’re for after all.
In fact, whilst you’re here: is there a Manc landmark that you really miss and wish we could bring back?
Beloved local restaurant passionately tears apart burglars after ‘hurtful and disappointing’ break-in
Daisy Jackson
A local Manchester restaurant has found itself the victim of a break-in, with staff wages and other goods stolen – and they’ve not exactly held back in their statement to the burglars.
The Thirsty Korean, a hugely popular name over in Chorlton, has asked customers to ‘teach them how to swear in English’ so they can adequately express their disappointment and disgust.
Owner Eunji Noh said in a passionate statement that ‘bad karma comes as well as good karma’.
She wrote: “What you did was that you fully disrespected us that we put our love, passion, effort and time to do something meaningful and great.
“We do not deserve that. I wish, you will be deserved of what you did and I hope, that it will hurt you and your life.”
The Thirsty Korean opened last year in a new spot on Wilbraham Road, serving its legendary and authentic Korean dishes like fried chicken, tteokbokki, and Korean pancakes.
Sharing CCTV images of the burglars in the restaurant, Eunji added that she hopes they will ‘one day become someone doing something right’.
She said: “Hating someone is consuming so much negative energy, therefore I really do not like to say such and it hurts me too.
“However words have a power. So I leave the message that, in any case you would ever read. You will have many bad things happening to you and you will have many bad days and I wish this bad karma will chase to you soon.”
The Thirsty Korean’s brunch spreadCheesy Ttekbokki noodles
She also wrote: “What you stole from the thirsty korean last night was paying our hard working staff wages, paying goods and supplies and our maintenance for the restaurant which assures us living tomorrow.
“It is truly hurtful and disappointing to know that there were people looking for the opportunity to steal someone’s belonging that I personally have never imagined to do by myself stealing someone’s possession and hovering and looking for a spot during the night with this bad intention.”
Addressing customers, she assured people that The Thirsty Korean will be back open for service from Wednesday.
Eunji signed off: “Eventually we all know that everything will be fine again. Spring has been always coming after winter ends.”
P1 Fitness – The Manchester gym that strikes the perfect blend of PT and group-based coaching
Danny Jones
We here at The Manc team are trying to get fit; it can be hard to find time for the gym when you’re busy, not to mention staying in shape when you’ve got a food scene as good as Manchester’s, which is exactly why P1 Fitness Studio is a perfect match for us.
Maybe you’ve fancied giving a personal trainer a go, or even tried a class or two, but perhaps the schedule, the price, the location or some other factor meant it wasn’t for you.
Whatever your reasoning, if you’re the kind of person who can admit they need a bit of a kick up the backside to get their arse in gear and actually stick at this gym lark, we can assure you this is an ideal place to build the right kinds of habits.
And trust us, they’ll keep pushing to make sure it sinks in.
Top-end facilities, secure lockers, every bit of kit you’ll ever need and much more (Credit: The Manc)
Aside from the anti-ego environment in general – you won’t catch anyone staring at themselves in mirrors here – it’s also just nice to be around people with similar lifestyles.
Boasting tonnes of positive reviews online, P1 Fitness is a place for busy professionals who aren’t willing to let work and all other time-consuming parts of ‘adulting’ be an excuse to not carve out less than an hour to better themselves.
And for most people, that really is all it takes to start seeing a difference; two 50-minute sessions might not sound like a lot to some, but the effort you put in during the group workouts is more than enough to get the benefit.
They focus on quality, not quantity, making sure every day that you turn up is worthwhile, and no drop of sweat is wasted.
Better still, they keep the numbers low and even break off into smaller groups to explain and tailor workouts to suit each person.
It’s not just weekly blocks stuck on a wall that you have to stick to: everything is flexible, and they do try and give everyone as much one-on-one attention as possible from the P1 staff.
Here’s what some other members have had to say in their recent testimonials:
“The biggest difference isn’t that I’m fitter and stronger. It’s that I don’t have to think about it anymore. Before P1 I’d spend all week telling myself I needed to go to the gym, then I’d be too tired, it’d be busy, I didn’t know what to do, and I’d end up doing nothing and beating myself up about it.
“Now I just turn up twice a week. Someone tells me what to do, I get coached to do it right, then shower, go back to work and my fitness takes care of itself. It’s one less thing I have to worry about.”
Louise
“I genuinely thought I hated gyms. In fact, when I saw one, I used to cross the street to avoid it… Turns out I hated the ‘usuall’ gym experience. Wondering what I was supposed to be doing, fighting for equipment in the crowd and being self-conscious about my form.
“At P1, I simply walk in, everything’s ready – someone coaches me through the session, we have a laugh in the group, and before I know it I’m finished. I actually look forward to training now, which is crazy.
Damien
One of our very own, Lonnie, says it’s given him a sense of “structure, routine and a community” in the gym like never before, and added that “it’s become that third space where people can come together to better themselves in a fun and unique way.”
Abby is ever the hard-working, friendly face; her husband and fellow co-owner, Peter, is a ‘BFG’ who will always push you to your limits but knows when not to beast you; Ben is a great instructor with a great way of breaking down movements, and Mel is the smiling assassin who is as dedicated as she is smiley.
Then there’s Katie, who is somehow juggling a PhD and working at P1 part-time, all whilst being an absolute Duracell bunny of a trainer. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a better team.
Best of all, you can choose when to register for a session based not only on who you prefer working with, but whatever time suits you; you can even put your name down as last-gasp as you like – in fact, we’ve turned up with five minutes’ notice on more than one occasion.
It’s also great to see that they’re more than happy to roll out a mat or pick up a weight and properly get stuck in there with you.
Put simply: much like you, all of these guys have their own special traits, but one thing they do all have in common is an incredible amount of drive and passion for the work they do, not to mention the knowledge and experience to back it up.
We’re not going to give you any harder of a sell than that; all we’ll say is that we’re feeling more positive about our current fitness journey than we have in a long time, and if you want to make similar progress, P1 might just be for you.
So, if you are truly looking to get fitter in a setting where consistency, accountability and community thrive, consider this your sign to finally get serious.
You can find out more and enquire about joining right HERE.
You won’t find a friendlier team. (Credit: Supplied)
Danny Jones -
24th August 2024 
