We’re going to post a longish thread about #Manchester based on this photo mosaic aerial shot from 1953. The next aerial image has labels of locations that will be in the thread – they won’t be in numerical order so don’t panic. #FridayFeature 
Like many UK cities, Manchester and Salford, were bombed heavily during WWII. Manchester was also the victim of an IRA attack in 1996 which injured 200 people and caused £Ms of damage to the Arndale Centre and vicinity. This thread looks at the areas most affected by bombing.
1 Taken in 1933 this aerial photograph shows Strangeways Prison. The large building with a tower towards the left is the Assize Court. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse in the neo-Gothic style and completed in 1864 the building was demolished in the mid 1950s due to WWII bomb damage.
4 This view looking N along the River Irwell shows Victoria Bridge with mills along the river banks. The Cathedral can be seen in the distance with scaffolding around it. This dates the picture to c1860 when the tower, in a dangerous condition, was demolished and reconstructed.
4 Victoria Bridge taken in 1999 looking south down the River Irwell towards Blackfriars Bridge. The mills on the left are gone, although the bridge looks the same. To the left is the Royal Exchange.
5 This image from 1938 shows the triangular Victoria Buildings which were destroyed in 1940. The building entirely collapsed blocking access to Victoria and Blackfriars Bridges. The empty space is visible on the aerial mosaic of 1953. The Royal Exchange is to the right.
8 The Shambles. Originally located in the Market Place, the Shambles comprises The Old Wellington Inn, opened 1552 and Sinclairs Oyster Bar. The Manchester blitz of 1940 destroyed many of the buildings around the Shambles.
8 1971, the Old Shambles being raised on a concrete raft and 30ft pilings to bring it in line with the new shopping centres being built. There was reportedly much criticism of the development but ironically it was the modern buildings that protected it from the IRA bomb in 1996.
9 In 1998 following the IRA bombing funding was provided to dismantle the Old Shambles and move it 300m north to its present location, next to Manchester Cathedral and The Triangle. It was rotated 180° and Sinclair's Oyster Bar was set at a right angle to The Old Wellington Inn.
3 Half St ran along the side of the Cathedral from Hanging Ditch to Fennel St and is now known as Cathedral St. In 1903 the Corn and Produce Exchange grew from a single building to take over the entire block encompassing a vast central hall with a dome, these buildings were lost.
7 The Corn and Produce Exchange has suffered damage both in WWII and from the IRA bombing. However it has managed to survive the C20th in a recognisable state - it has been a shopping arcade known as The Triangle and is now again known as the @cornexchangeMAN, a restaurant hub.
@cornexchangeMAN 11 Manchester Royal Infirmary - demolished in 1914 after the infirmary moved to new premises. Piccadilly Gardens are now on this site. The buildings on Parker St to the right of the Infirmary were destroyed in WWII and were the location of Piccadilly Plaza seen here in 1992. END
