Love this one - this is a view looking towards Smithfield located in the north-eastern part of the city centre. The majority of the area is within the Smithfield Conservation Area which was designated by Manchester City Council in February 1987.

The top photo is from the early 1990s and was kindly provided by Muse back in 2010 when Euan was writing his Rebuilding Manchester book (the original photographer is unknown). We have assumed the photo was taken from the CIS Tower. Some notable landmarks that can be identified include Griffin House on Lever Street, the walls of the former Fish Market building; and, the Church Street car park.

The bottom photo is from 2025 and huge thanks to David Booth from Place North for another piece of drone magic!

The photo shows the major change that has taken place in this part of the city over the past 30 years or so. Much of the change formed part of the Smithfield regeneration scheme which was delivered by Muse in partnership with Manchester City Council over seven phases from the early 2000s.

It has delivered more than 350 apartments; the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express hotels; and, 30,000 sq ft of ground floor space. In addition it includes the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Mackie Mayor (the former Smithfield fish market). It reopened in 2017 and includes independent kitchens and bars with seating for over 400 people.