Manchester Central Library
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Manchester Central Library is a circular library next to the extended Town Hall in Manchester, England.
The design was the result of a competition held in 1927 for a new library and town hall extension; the winner was E. Vincent Harris. The library was constructed between 1930 and 1934, but because of its traditional classical architecture it is often mistakenly thought to be much older. At its opening one critic wrote "This is the sort of thing which persuades one to believe in the perennial applicability of the Classical canon". [1] The form of the building is derived form the Pantheon, Rome.
The library building is grade II* listed[2].
The respected Library Theatre Company is located in the basement. The library also incorporates the famous Henry Watson music library.
[edit] 2007 Fire
On March 30, 2007 a fire broke out at around 1830 BST in the basement area. In tackling the blaze, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service closed many of the surrounding streets creating traffic difficulties.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Julian Holder (2007), Emanuel Vincent Harris and the survival of classicism in inter-war Manchester, in Clare Hartwell & Terry Wyke(editors), Making Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, ISBN 978-0-900942-01-3
- ^ http://www.manchester.gov.uk/planning/heritage/listed/streets4.htm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6512505.stm
[edit] External links
- Central Library homepage
- Local image collection - contains historical photographs of the library
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