| The Palace Hotel | |
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| Palace Clock Tower, Manchester.jpg The clock tower for the Palace Hotel |
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Location within Greater Manchester
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | red brick and terracotta |
| Town or city | Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | |
| Current tenants | Palace Hotel, Principal Hayley Group |
| Construction started | 1891 |
| Completed | 1895, 1912, 1932 |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Refuge Assurance Company |
| Architect | Alfred Waterhouse, Paul Waterhouse, Stanley Birkett |
The Refuge Assurance Building, now the Palace Hotel 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 1891–1895.[1] The inside was of Burmantofts faience and glazed brick. The ground floor was one enormous open business hall.[2]
It was extended, with a striking 217-foot (66 m) tower, along Oxford Street by his son Paul Waterhouse in 1910–1912.[1] It was further extended along Whitworth Street by Stanley Birkett in 1932.[2]
The Refuge Assurance Company occupied the building until 1987. Although, the Refuge Assurance company had discussed turning the building into a new home for The Hallé, the funding required for the project did not materialise.[3] It was converted to a hotel by Richard Newman in 1996, and is now the Palace Hotel, owned and operated by the Principal Hayley Group.
Some scenes in the 1960 film Hell Is a City were shot on the roof.[4]