Triangle

Sat. 27th Jan., 2001

The Central Exchange and News Rooms building was erected by Richard Grainger in 1837 and was based on the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli. It was originally meant as a corn market, although the Council favoured the Bigg Market.

Always an innovator, Grainger  opened the central floor to traders and it quickly attracted over a thousand members.

Later it housed an art gallery, and in 1897 became the Vaudeville Theatre. The interior was destroyed by fire in 1901, and the present internal construction dates from 1906.

The Central Exchange occupies a triangular site. Grainger Street, to the left here, runs from the Central Station to Grey's Monument, Market Street runs from this junction to its intersection with New Bridge Street at the Central Motorway, and Grey Street that stretches from the Mosley Street Dean Street junction to the Monument.

Grainger originally intended the area where the Monument now stands (erected in 1838) to house a new Law Court, but Dobson objected, favouring the area around the Moot Hall and the Castle. The matter was settled when the Monument was erected, although Dobson was brought down a peg when his plans were rejected in favour of Benjamin Green's design and Edward Hodges Baily's statue.

Above is the corner nearest Grey's Monument with Grey Street to the left and Grainger Street to the right.

Each corner is a cylinder topped with a dome sprouting a bunch of feathers. The external features of the building are largely original, it was the inside portion that was devastated by the fire.

The City Council has removed all but a few decorative lamp standards from this area. The street is lit by luminaires attached unobtrusively to the buildings. This gives the streets a spacious feel, not possible in the earlier eras of trams and trolley buses when a forest of poles and a ceiling of wires cluttered the streets.

Here on Market Street is the goods access to the inner triangle. The sign mentions an hotel, but this has long gone. The Central Arcade is a series of shops built in 1906 from the ruins of that fire.

Today only hand carts and wheeled bins travel through here, but in earlier times goods were transported in waggons narrow enough to fit in the gaps. These were based on horse carts, but moved by small petrol driven tractor units. Most goods travelled by rail and a fleet of these little trucks owned by the railway company ran around the city.

This stretch of Market Street was once paved with rubber cobble stones to dampen the noise. They were dangerously slippery when wet and were soon removed.

Just to the west of that goods entrance is the southern end of the arcade. That lettering is relatively new, despite its Art Nouveau appearance. For many years sans serif white metal letters were arranged in a semicircle above the pediment.

There are unobtrusive gates, closed at night. The shops are not fitted with unsightly roller shutters and vandalism is virtually unheard of in this picturesque arcade.

The designers were Joseph and Harold Oswald, a local firm specialising in pubs. Under a glass barrel vault roof a riot of brown and cream ceramic faïence celebrates the utter eccentricity that was the Nouveau style fashionable at the time.

The Grainger Street entrance is much grander. Again, the lettering is recent, more of those white tin ones used to adorn that curved Corinthian pediment.

The mosaic tiled floor is also a recent restoration. It is sadly lacking in flair, having plain lettering and most out of place Greek key border. Surely, some flowing Aubrey Beardsley vines and flowing diaphanous fabric designs would have been more in keeping with the original vision.

Here is the view from the third floor of Emerson Chambers, now a book shop. Below that paved area used to be one of the most notorious accident and traffic congestion black spots in the city.

The dome and improbable feather motif has been adopted as a logo for the Grainger Town Project, a revitalisation and heritage plan, attracting a variety of public and private sponsorship. This is very much in the spirit of Richard Granger's original vision.

Renovation and restoration work abound. The Monument was recently wrapped in a square white plastic tent whilst the sculpture was cleaned and the stone column repaired.

The arcade inside is airy and light, which is more that can be said for some modern shopping malls where the harsh flicker of flourescent and neon replace the abundant sunshine.

Above the shop fronts run two galleries, but there is no access, except through the first storey windows. The fan and niche design is reflected at both ends of the arcade, and a spur to Grainger Street runs off to the left.

The walls are covered in Burmantofts glazed earthenware with Nouveau details. One almost expects to see small fountains playing in those alcoved niches at each end. They certainly never held sculptures!

Not all is old fashioned, here at the Market Street end is the successor to McNulty's Internet Café. The Internet Exchange is always busy with folk surfing and researching as well as catching up with pals by email. Friendly staff are on hand to help those who might not be familiar with the technology, or guide the inexperienced surfer to the desired route through the Web.

A view seldom seen by the visitor is the decoration on the balcony. Look closely, the swirls disguise some ghastly and demon faces as well as some dragons and fantastical animals.

There is certainly nothing bland about the decoration here, and it is representative of the interiors of many public spaces built during the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth. It is a real shame that so many of these interiors or even the buildings themselves have fallen prey to the "improvers" whose red pencils and bulldozers destroy detail at a stroke and replace it with unstimulating blank homogeneity.

The grand sweep of Grey Street, much admired by visitors since its completion in 1838, culminates in the Central Arcade.

It is a jewel in a city rejoicing in fine buildings. It is a small oasis of tranquility in the bustle of the commercial heart. It is often the stage for lone flautists or violinists to entertain the shoppers with Bach, Debussy, or Walton with no fear of being drowned out by the roar of traffic.

Thanks to the vision and effort of local politicians, residents and historians this area of the city will remain unspoilt, retain its grandeur, and avoid the excesses of commercial cannibalism.