Canal Street (Manchester)

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Canal Street looks across the Rochdale Canal into Sackville Park in the centre of Manchester. The street is the main focus of Manchester's gay community and is lined with gay bars, clubs, cafes and shops. At night time (and in the daytime during the warmer months) 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.

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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.

In the early 1990s 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 'feel'. Manto was to be briefly renamed as Bar 46; however, the Manto name returned to Canal Street in 2003.

In the late 1990s it was felt by many that Canal Street was becoming too 'mainstream', represented by the opening of a number of chain bars and the increasing proclivity of 'straight' drinkers. Canal Street has always welcomed all comers, but it was felt by the gay community that the street was becoming too commericalised and losing its original ethos. A boycott was launched of the new Slug and Lettuce bar, which eventually led to its closure, when it was bought out and re-opened as Queer. This, along with the re-opening of Manto, is widely seen as the turning point that led to the resurgence of Canal Street.

The street's sign has often been altered, by removing the 'C' and the 'S', to read 'Anal Treet'.

The gay scene on Canal Street was a focus of the show Queer as Folk, broadcast by Channel Four in 1999.

The memorial to mathematician, logician, cryptographer, early computer scientist, and gay icon Alan Turing is situated in nearby Sackville Park.

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