Introduction
One from last year on a trip up North with @JakeV50. Something a bit different to the usual stuff we visit and I really enjoyed it.
Information & History
The baths opened in 1921 and were designed by architect Harry Price. Price was responsible for some well-known landmarks in Manchester such as the Victoria, Withington and Harpurhey baths. Price also designed other types of public buildings including a number of libraries. Price was also involved with the design of the Hydraulic Power Station on the banks of the River Irwell, which has now been converted into the People’s History Museum.
The building acted as a fully-fledged leisure centre for the area featuring a gymnasium with strength and cardio equipment, in addition to a steam room and sauna. In 2015, closure was imminent for the baths due to a nearby Swimming Pool and Library being constructed to replace the older Levenshulme facility. The new building was. I found a fantastic source online with images inside the facility on the final day of operation. Even back then, it looked pretty run down so no wonder a new facility replaced it. The sad thing is with buildings like this, renovation and repair can cost far too much to be economical.
The building suffered a fire back in October last year and the council plans to demolish it and build housing and community facilities in its place.
The Explore
I must admit, I was a bit on edge with this one just like I was with Greenbank Synagogue in Liverpool. The area wasn’t the nicest and the sort of place I would expect squatters, but luckily we had the building to ourselves. The entry at the time was a proper pain in the arse though, and I almost chopped my left testicle in half going over a small fence when entering the grounds. We must’ve spent a good two or three hours in here getting pics before calling it a day.
Photos
We started off in the gym area before heading to the main pool.
I only used my 15-85mm zoom lens on this occasion so some of the images are not quite as wide as I would’ve liked.
Moving through a few corridors. There were some nice details here, like this old sign:
The corridors had a lot of character with the nice old tiles:
The second pool was smaller and was originally the women's pool. This one had a more interesting roof and gave off a warm glow:
I can’t remember what this room was used for, looked like some sort of office or reception area. Either way, it was nice and a bit different compared to the other sections:
Little details like the tiles were prominent throughout the building, a lot of attention to detail was given when the baths were designed and constructed:
A quick look at the steam room before heading down the expansive network of underground passageways containing various piping and pumps and other machinery required for the operation of the pools.
Thanks for looking.
One from last year on a trip up North with @JakeV50. Something a bit different to the usual stuff we visit and I really enjoyed it.
Information & History
The baths opened in 1921 and were designed by architect Harry Price. Price was responsible for some well-known landmarks in Manchester such as the Victoria, Withington and Harpurhey baths. Price also designed other types of public buildings including a number of libraries. Price was also involved with the design of the Hydraulic Power Station on the banks of the River Irwell, which has now been converted into the People’s History Museum.
The building acted as a fully-fledged leisure centre for the area featuring a gymnasium with strength and cardio equipment, in addition to a steam room and sauna. In 2015, closure was imminent for the baths due to a nearby Swimming Pool and Library being constructed to replace the older Levenshulme facility. The new building was. I found a fantastic source online with images inside the facility on the final day of operation. Even back then, it looked pretty run down so no wonder a new facility replaced it. The sad thing is with buildings like this, renovation and repair can cost far too much to be economical.
The building suffered a fire back in October last year and the council plans to demolish it and build housing and community facilities in its place.
The Explore
I must admit, I was a bit on edge with this one just like I was with Greenbank Synagogue in Liverpool. The area wasn’t the nicest and the sort of place I would expect squatters, but luckily we had the building to ourselves. The entry at the time was a proper pain in the arse though, and I almost chopped my left testicle in half going over a small fence when entering the grounds. We must’ve spent a good two or three hours in here getting pics before calling it a day.
Photos
We started off in the gym area before heading to the main pool.
I only used my 15-85mm zoom lens on this occasion so some of the images are not quite as wide as I would’ve liked.
Moving through a few corridors. There were some nice details here, like this old sign:
The corridors had a lot of character with the nice old tiles:
The second pool was smaller and was originally the women's pool. This one had a more interesting roof and gave off a warm glow:
I can’t remember what this room was used for, looked like some sort of office or reception area. Either way, it was nice and a bit different compared to the other sections:
Little details like the tiles were prominent throughout the building, a lot of attention to detail was given when the baths were designed and constructed:
A quick look at the steam room before heading down the expansive network of underground passageways containing various piping and pumps and other machinery required for the operation of the pools.
Thanks for looking.
