Quay Bar facts for kids
Quay Bar was a cool building located right next to the Bridgewater Canal in an area called Castlefield in Manchester, England. It was designed by a famous architecture company called Stephenson Bell. They built it for a company known as Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery, which many people just called Banks.
What Was Quay Bar?
Quay Bar was a building that opened in 1998. It was designed to be a bar and restaurant where people could hang out and enjoy the views of the canal. The building itself was very modern and interesting, which is why it won several awards shortly after it was finished.
Awards and Recognition
The design of Quay Bar was so good that it quickly won many important awards. These included:
- An MSA Design Award
- A RIBA Award, which is a big deal for buildings in the UK
- The Manchester Civic Society Award
It was even considered for the very famous Stirling Prize, which is given to the best new building in the United Kingdom each year. This shows how special and well-designed Quay Bar was when it first opened.
Why Did Quay Bar Close?
Even though Quay Bar was popular and won awards, it faced some challenges. Other new bars and restaurants started opening closer to the center of Manchester, especially in a trendy area called Deansgate Locks. These new places attracted many of the same people who used to visit Quay Bar.
Because of this new competition, Quay Bar found it harder to get as many customers as it did when it first opened. Sadly, the bar eventually closed its doors in 2003.
What Happened Next?
After Quay Bar closed, a company called Urban Splash bought the building. They tried to give it a new life and renamed it Modo Clubroom. However, this new club did not last very long.
The building became empty in 2005. Over time, it started to fall apart because no one was taking care of it. It also suffered a lot from vandalism, which means people damaged it on purpose. Because the building was in such bad shape and kept getting vandalized, it was decided that it needed to be taken down.
In November 2007, the Quay Bar building was demolished. This means it was carefully pulled down and removed.
