This view is along Brown Street towards Market Street, Arndale Centre, and - in the distance - CIS Tower.

The top photo was kindly shared by Paul Crompton and is from around 1989 looking towards the former underground Market Centre (also note the agency boards on the right: Dunlop Heywood and Andrew & Ashwell).

The bottom photo is from March 2024 and shows the scale of change that has taken place. From memory the Centre and buildings to the right were demolished around 1994, with works to the Arndale Centre taking place incrementally over the past 20 years or so.

Incredibly there is footage on You Tube from around five years ago which shows that parts of the underground Market Centre, such as the stairs and some old shop signs, are still in place underneath the now pedestrianised area.