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- Arts & Culture
- 17 February 2025
Imagined Manchester: what our city could have been
A talk by award-winning guide and writer Jonathan Schofield
23 January 2025
Overview
Discover the hidden stories of Manchester’s urban landscape. This talk explores incredible city plans that were never built, revealing fascinating “what if” moments in Manchester’s history.
What You’ll Experience
Recorded on 23 January at Friends’ Meeting House, Manchester, this engaging presentation showcases extraordinary images of imagined city schemes, shares stories about unrealized architectural projects, and provides deep insights into Manchester’s urban development.
Fascinating Plans
Jonathan discusses remarkable unbuilt designs including a part-Eiffel Tower in Piccadilly Gardens, a Deansgate travelator, a communications tower behind Piccadilly Station, a mini-Parthenon on Upper Brook Street, and potential city boulevards and heliports.
Key Questions Explored
The talk delves into how cities develop, why some ambitious plans succeed while others fail, and what truly shapes urban landscapes. These explorations challenge our understanding of city planning and architectural imagination.
Perfect for
Anyone curious about Manchester’s history, urban planning, and alternative city visions.
Jonathan Schofield
Jonathan Schofield is a Guide, Writer, Broadcaster and Public Speaker. In 2021, Jonathan was awarded the Medal of Honour by the University of Manchester for services to the city and region.
He has been a Blue Badge Guide since 1996, and when he is not out leading groups on tours of the streets of Manchester, Jonathan is Editor-at-Large of Manchester Confidential the city’s largest independent magazine. He has also written a couple of books, including Manchester: the complete guide.
Jonathan has guided around, interviewed or been interviewed by many notable public figures including Sir Alex Ferguson, Annie Lennox, Alistair Campbell, Victoria Wood, Anish Kapoor, The Hairy Bikers, and Maxine Peake.
He has been a key guest with Victoria Derbyshire on Channel 4’s No Place Like Home. Similarly, he was a main guest with Professor Alice Roberts on Britain’s Most Historic Towns.
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