Exchange Square is civic square in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. The square was created after the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

1996 Manchester bombing The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Saturday, 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest ...

. This reconstruction included the structural relocation of two pubs to make room for the new

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

store. Today the square is a major shopping area including branches of high-end department stores

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

, New Cathedral Street, the

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

and an entrance to the

Manchester Arndale Manchester Arndale (one of a number of shopping centres in the UK by the same developers, also known simply as the Arndale Centre or the Arndale) is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 19 ...

, one of the most-visited shopping centres in the United Kingdom. To the north lies the

Printworks Printworks may refer to: *Printworks (London), a nightclub and events space in Rotherhithe *The Printworks (Manchester) The Printworks is an urban entertainment venue offering a cinema, clubs and eateries, located on the corner of Withy Grove ...

and

Urbis Urbis was an exhibition and museum in Manchester, England, designed by Ian Simpson (architect), Ian Simpson. The building opened in June 2002 as part of the redevelopment of Exchange Square (Manchester), Exchange Square known as the Millennium Qu ...

, now home to the

National Football Museum The National Football Museum is England's national museum of football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of football memorabilia. The museum was originally b ...

. To the west lies

Shambles Square Shambles Square is a square in Manchester, England, created in 1999 around the rebuilt The Old Wellington Inn, Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair's Oyster Bar next to The Mitre Hotel. Etymology "Shambles" was a name originally used for a street ...

(with

The Old Wellington Inn The Old Wellington Inn is a half-timbered pub in Manchester city centre, England. It is part of Shambles Square, which was created in 1999, and is near Manchester Cathedral. It is a Grade II listed building. History The oldest building of ...

) and

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

. To the south is New Cathedral Street and the Royal Exchange.

Transport

The square is served by

Exchange Square tram stop Exchange Square tram stop is a stop in the City Zone of Greater Manchester's Metrolink light rail system, in Exchange Square opposite the Manchester Arndale shopping centre in Manchester city centre. It is part of the Second City Crossing (2 ...

on the

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kin ...

network which opened in December 2015. The station provides a direct link to

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

, Shaw & Crompton and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. Construction on the extension started in 2014 and the entire Second City Crossing scheme was opened on 26 February 2017.

Wheel of Manchester

A transportable

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

was first installed at Exchange Square in 2004, known as the

Wheel of Manchester The Wheel of Manchester was a transportable Ferris wheel installation at Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, England. The wheel was originally a smaller installation based in Exchange Square, first assembled in 2004. The wheel's size was increased ...

. This was dismantled and a second wheel was erected in May 2007. The most recently installed wheel, operated by

Great City Attractions Great City Attractions Limited, also known as Great City Attractions Global, was a company engaged in the operation of large transportable Ferris wheels. Based in Sutton Coldfield, UK, it was incorporated in 2008. It went into administration in Jul ...

, had 42 passenger cars and was tall. A wheel was planned for 2008 but never constructed. In 2010,

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

proposed a wheel, to be operated by

, as a replacement for the existing transportable installation, which was installed at

Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, on the edge of the Northern Quarter. It takes its name from the adjacent street, Piccadilly, which runs across the city centre from Market Street to London Road. The ga ...

until 2015.

References

{{Manchester A&S Squares in Manchester Tourist attractions in Manchester