Manchester Arndale facts for kids
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View of the Arndale Centre from Shudehill
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| Location | Manchester, England |
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| Coordinates | 53°29′00″N 2°14′29″W / 53.48333°N 2.24139°W |
| Opening date | 1975 |
| Developer | Arndale Property Trust |
| Owner | M&G Real Estate Intu Properties |
| No. of stores and services | 210 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,300,000 sq ft (120,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 (21 in Office Tower) |
| Parking | 1450 spaces, NCP (Manchester) Limited. |
The Manchester Arndale is a huge shopping centre in Manchester, England. It's also known as the Arndale Centre or just the Arndale. It was built between 1972 and 1979.
This shopping centre is the biggest of its kind in the UK. It was built by a company called Arndale Property Trust. After a big explosion in 1996, the centre was rebuilt and made even better.
The Arndale has a massive shopping area, almost 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m2). This makes it one of the largest city-centre shopping malls in Europe. It's also one of the biggest shopping centres in the UK. About 41 million people visit the Arndale every year!
Contents
History of Manchester Arndale
The Manchester Arndale was built from 1971 to 1979. It is located on Market Street in Manchester city centre. The first part of the centre opened in 1975. It was the largest Arndale Centre ever built in the United Kingdom.
Building a Modern Shopping Centre
In the 1960s and 1970s, many cities wanted to build modern shopping areas. Old buildings often couldn't handle what new shops needed. Places like the Bull Ring, Birmingham and the Merrion Centre in Leeds were also built around this time.
Manchester was a very important shopping city. But by the 1960s, other nearby towns were improving their own shopping areas. This meant fewer people had to travel to Manchester to shop. So, the city decided to build a big, new centre to keep its place as a top shopping spot.
Early Design and Construction
The plan for the Arndale started in 1965. It was meant to be the UK's biggest shopping centre. The architects were Hugh Wilson and J. L. Womersley. They wanted to create a modern space for shoppers.
Building started in 1972. The centre opened in different stages. The Arndale Tower and 60 shops opened in 1976. More parts, like the bridge over Market Street, opened in the following years. By 1979, the centre had 210 shops and over 200 market stalls.
The total cost to build the Arndale was about £100 million. This was a huge amount of money at the time.
First Impressions of the Arndale
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When it first opened, the Arndale was seen as very big. It had different levels and many walkways. There was a sculpture called Totem by artist Franta Belsky inside. It was very tall, about 9.45-metre-high (31 ft 0 in), and stood in a fountain. This sculpture showed parts of Manchester's history. It was later removed during a renovation.
Some people thought the outside of the building looked plain. It was covered in light-coloured tiles. But inside, many people loved it. It was a bright and exciting place to shop.
Making the Arndale Better
Shopping centres usually get updated every 10 to 20 years. The Arndale started to get improvements about six years after it opened. The owners wanted to make it easier to find your way around. They added skylights to let in natural light and put in plants. They also changed the floor colours in different areas to help people know where they were.
A new food court called Voyagers was added in 1991. This made the centre even more popular. The Arndale also had its own radio station called Centre Sound.
Even though some people didn't like its look, the Manchester Arndale was very successful. By 1996, it was fully rented out and had millions of visitors each week.
The 1996 Bombing and Rebuilding
On June 15, 1996, a large bomb exploded near the Arndale Centre. It was a Saturday morning, and many people were in the area. Police and staff quickly helped about 80,000 people leave the area before the bomb went off.
Amazingly, no one was killed, but over 200 people were hurt, mostly by flying glass. The explosion caused a lot of damage to the Arndale and other nearby buildings. Some buildings had to be pulled down.
The cost to fix everything was over £400 million. This was one of the most expensive human-made disasters at the time. The Arndale's damaged parts were repaired, and the centre was rebuilt. This event led to a big redesign of Manchester city centre, making it more modern and pedestrian-friendly.
Food Court
The Manchester Arndale has a large food court called The Food-Chain. It used to be called Voyagers and opened in 1991. It has 800 seats where you can eat.
You can find The Food-Chain on the second floor. There are escalators and lifts to help you get there easily from different parts of the centre.
Transport
The Manchester Arndale is easy to reach by public transport. It is served by three stations on the Manchester Metrolink tram system:
- Market Street
- Exchange Square
- Shudehill Interchange (which is also a bus station)
In the 1970s, there were plans for an underground railway station below the Arndale. A space was even built for it, but the railway project was never finished.
Images for kids
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The original yellow Arndale Tower, which remains part of the new Arndale complex
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Interior of the footbridge linking the Arndale to Marks & Spencer across Corporation Street
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The most recent extension to the Arndale, which opened in 2006
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Map of Metrolink tram stops near the Manchester Arndale
