Canal Street

Canal Street looks across the Rochdale Canal into Sackville Park in the centre of Manchester, UK. The street is the main focus of Manchester's gay community and is lined with gay bars, clubs, cafes and shops. At night time the street is filled with partygoers, many of whom are gay and lesbian tourists from all over the world. The Gay Pride festival, known as Mardi Gras, or Manchester Pride, is held in this street and the surrounding area during the second half of August each year. The event culminates with a three day festival known as the 'Big Weekend', which is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Download high resolution version (607x1191, 111 KB)Manchester Gay Village Anal Street Photograph taken by Lmno on 24 Sept 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (607x1191, 111 KB)Manchester Gay Village Anal Street Photograph taken by Lmno on 24 Sept 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Rochdale Canal is a canal in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, UK. The canal runs between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire where it connects with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. ... Whitworth Gardens (also known as Sackville Park) in Manchester, England, is bounded by the City College Manchester City Campus on one side and Whitworth Street, Sackville Street and the Rochdale Canal and Canal Street on the others. ... This article is about the city in England. ... A gay bar is a drinking establishment which caters primarily to gays or lesbians. ... A Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland. ...

History

Canal street was built alongside the construction of the Rochdale Canal, with pubs built to service the users of the canal. In the 1960s, the canals of Northern England declined in usage due to the collapse of the cotton industry. The Canal Street area then began to attract the gay community, who moved into the area from the 1970s. As the confidence of gays in the UK improved, more and larger bars opened along the canal side, turning Canal Street into the largest gay village in Europe. The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... Torontos Church and Wellesley district, one of the largest gay villages in North America Rainbow flags are displayed in the Castro area of San Francisco as a symbol of gay pride The entrance to Chueca metro station in the Plaza de Chueca (Chueca square) in Madrid (Spain), during gay... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...

In the early 1990's Manto bar opened. This was viewed as something of a revolution as Manto had large glass windows, allowing the casual 'passer by' to view what was going on inside. Previously many establishments catering for the gay community were often keen to 'conceal' activities from the general public. As the decade continued more and more establishments began to open, each with their own modern 'feel'. Perhaps one of the most well known is Spirit (located next door to Manto), which first opened for business in 1999. Manto was to be briefly renamed as Bar 46; however, the Manto name returned to Canal Street in 2003. Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The gay scene on Canal Street was a focus of the show Queer as Folk, broadcast by Channel Four in 1999. Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men let loose in Manchesters gay village around Canal Street. ... Channel 4 is a television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The new millennium has seen Canal Street continue to expand in terms of entertainment venues. In July 2000 Essential, a night club aimed at the gay community, opened in nearby Bloom Street. This club is perhaps the largest and most well known gay club outside of London. Owned by Nigel Martin Smith, the former manager of the well known 1990's boyband Take That, Essential is especially popular with the younger 'crowd'. Martin Smith expanded his business interests in the Manchester gay village by opening Queer in 2003 and Falcon (a bar aimed exclusively at men) in 2005. July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... St. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... A boy band (American English) or boyband (British English) is a style of somewhat to mostly prefabricated pop group featuring about between three and six young male singer/dancers, but normally five. ... Take That was a boy band which originated in Manchester, England in 1990. ... Manchester is a city in the north-west of England. ... Torontos Church and Wellesley district, one of the largest gay villages in North America Rainbow flags are displayed in the Castro area of San Francisco as a symbol of gay pride The entrance to Chueca metro station in the Plaza de Chueca (Chueca square) in Madrid (Spain), during gay... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... a bust ...

In Late 2004, AXM Magazine decided to open it's bar 'AXM bar' in the heart of Canal Street, providing an 'up market' and more sophisticated experience in Manchester's gay village by providing excellent cocktails and an un-rivalled level of service standards. This ever popular venue has marked a change in direction for Manchester's gay village seeing many bars follow suit such as Prague V's recent refurbishment to View and Velvet's new swanky cocktail bar. It has been described as: "Finally Canal Street has grown up" M.E.N and vows to 'put the rainbow flag back in to the village'. AXM is to host the main stage for Manchester Pride 2005 and with it's magazine, gay life tv production company and connection with gaydar & gaydar radio is set to be the biggest commercial gay branding the Uk or perhaps even the world has ever seen!

Such has Manchester's gay village grown, there has been the emergence of an online resource known as RealManchester.com which provides excellent reviews, listings and pictures of events in and around Manchester's gay village...

Bars and Clubs on and around Canal Street

• Manto, the bar scenes in Queer as Folk were filmed at Manto

• Spirit, this venue was filmed to provide the gay bar scene when Coronation Street ran a gay storyline centred around the character of Todd Grimshaw

• New Union

• AXM Bar A sophisticated, popular, trend setting bar in the heart of the village

• Queer

• View, which was launched in July 2005, replacing Prague 5 which traditionally attracted a more mixed crowd than the rest of the village

• Falcon, a men only bar opened in May 2005

• Hollywood Show Bar

• New York New York

• Rembrandt

• Churchill's

• Via Fossa

• Thompson's Arms

• Essential, one of the major UK gay nightclubs outside London

• Cruz 101

• Vanilla, a venue aimed at the lesbian community

Queer as Folk is a television series, with a US and UK variant: Queer as Folk (UK) 1999-2000 (the original) Queer as Folk (US) 2000-2005 (taking a distinct and seperate path) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... A gay bar is a drinking establishment which caters primarily to gays or lesbians. ... The opening title of Coronation Street, since 2002. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... a bust ... St. ... A lesbian is a homosexual woman. ...

External links

• Queer Quarter News and views from Canal Street
• Essential Nightclub Information on this major Manchester gay nightclub
• AXM Bar Link to AXM bar, 10 Canal St and AXM Magazine - hosts of the main stage at Manchester's Pride festival 2005.
• Panoramic view of Canal Street from the BBC website