Refuge Assurance Building
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The Refuge Assurance Building, or Refuge Building, stands at the corner of Oxford Street and Whitworth Street in Manchester, England.
The first phase of this Grade II* listed red brick and terracotta building was designed for the Refuge Assurance Company by Alfred Waterhouse and built 1891-5. The inside was of Burmantofts faience and glazed brick. The ground floor was one enormous open business hall.
It was extended, with a striking 217 foot tower, along Oxford Street by his son Paul Waterhouse in 1910-12. It was further extended along Whitworth Street by Stanley Birkett in 1932.
It was converted to a hotel (by Richard Newman) in 1996, and is now the Palace Hotel.
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
- Pictures inside the Refuge Building
- Manchester City Council - Whitworth Street Conservation Area
- Images of England - photograph and details from listed building text