Curves and Arches at Salford Quays.

Salford Quays – a Major Urban Regeneration Project.

By day or by night the architecture and engineering at Salford Quays provide a feast for the eyes.

The area is near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal and was the site of the former Manchester Docks. These docks were the third busiest in Britain until the advent of container ships which were too big to enter. The docks declined in the 1970s and closed in 1982 with a loss of 3,000 jobs.

Regeneration of the site began in 1985. Within two years, the water, which had been heavily polluted by ships over the previous century, was clean enough for the introduction of 12,000 fish which have thrived.

The area has changed from being one of the least salubrious in the region to being one of the most desirable.

It is now home to the Lowry Theatre, a shopping mall, restaurants, hotels, luxury apartments, the Imperial War Museum and, most recently, the television and film studios of Media City

I’ve posted a few shots here that I took on a recent visit to the Quays Theatre. You’ll see the Millennium Lift Bridge by day and in all its glorious colours at night, the Imperial War Museum and the Quays Lowry Theatre:

all images ©HelenBushe

In a couple of weeks we’re going again to the theatre there and I’m hoping the weather will allow me to take some more photographs.

This post was inspired by Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Circles, Curves and Arches.