Proposed Reconstruction Athenaeum Princess Street Manchester

THE MANCHESTER ATHENAEUM RECONSTRUCTION SCHEME - Plans {or complete reconstruction of the Athenaeum buildings in Princess Street, Manchester, have been prepared by Messrs Charles Clegg and Son, architects. Spring Gardens, and will be on view to-day and to-morrow to the members in the the institution. The President (Mr. E. Tootal Broadhurst) and directors inspected them yesterday. It has long been felt that the building, which was opened in 1838 and enlarged in 1873-4. was somewhat unsuitable for more modern requirements, but for the last twenty years the directors have been waiting for any action on the part of the Corporation in relation to the adjacent City Art Gallery in Mosley Street. Negotiations have been entered upon more than once with respect to the acquisition of the Athenaeum building for the purpose o! extending the Art Gallery—a narrow lane separating the two institutions - but nothing definite has ever come of them. It is the recent action of the Watch Committee that has caused the directors of the Athenaeum to take a decisive step. The Committee refused to renew the dramatic licence of the lecture-hall on the second storey on the ground that the room was unsafe, as it did not possess sufficient exits. The result was that the Athenaeum Dramatic Society, now in its 66th season, has found itself compelled to transfer its performances to the Midland Theatre, where on Saturday next "The Silver Box," by John Galsworthy. will be produced. This will be the first time since the fire in the Athenaeum building in the early seventies that the Dramatic Society has played outside the institution. Even the temporary loss of one of its most attractive assets is a serious one for the institution, and the necessity for at once providing the Society with a new home in the building, and one which will satisfy, it is confidently hoped, all the requirements of the Watch Committee, has been a leading factor in the new scheme. The plans promise entirely to transform the building, although no extension of the present site is contemplated. A new theatre or lecture-hall will be constructed in the basement, the present floor being lowered 16 feet, and the dining-room of the basement is to be transferred to the present lecture room on the second storey. An entirely new third floor finds a place on the plans, part of the upper portion of the lecture-hall being utilised, and this will contain an art gallery, probably a gymnasium, and the kitchens. The ground floor remains for the purpose of a newsroom, and the first floor for a library, smoke-room, and billiard- room, but extensive alterations and rearrangements have been devised in order to make them comfortable and bring them up to date. A system of lifts or elevators and new staircases form part of the scheme. The Princess Street front of the building will not be affected, excepted at the summit. but the George Street facade is to be altered and remodelled, and the present entrance would be abolished altogether. The general alterations give members over 11,000 superficial square feet of floor area greater than they have now in the present building, and allows for a membership of at least 4,500.

The plans for the theatre have been designed to accommodate 817 persons comfortably, the house being of two tiers and divided into pit: (355), stalls (182), and circle (208). Adequate cloakroom and lavatory accommodation have been provided for each section of the audience. The entrance is from George Street, there being separate staircases for pit and circle, and two other staircases have been provided, making four exits, one for each corner of the building. These staircases will be of fire-resisting material. One of salient features of the design is the complete isolation of the theatre from the superstructure. This is carried out by the whole of the present ground floor being cut away, and being replaced by a fire-resisting and sound-proof door. The proscenium wall is to be constructed in ferro-concrete, and provided with a fireproof curtain, whilst the stage is the same size as the present one in the lecture hall, which closely approximates in area to that of the New Theatre, London. A foyer, ten dressing-rooms, and accommodation for bandsmen and stage hands also find a place in the scheme. The whole of the atmosphere can be changed completely in ten minutes, without draughts or inconvenience. A noteworthy point in the scheme is that not only would the theatre be used for entertainments and meetings, but it is also designed for cinematograph shows, with a special chamber for the cinematograph operator and apparatus. The theatre is to be nearly 70 feet long, 49 feet wide, and 28 feet high.

On the ground floor the alterations would consist of cutting the present large reading room into four distinct comfortable rooms. From this floor the lift and goods hoist service starts. Portions of the back block are to be used as largo class-rooms, lighted from George Street. On the first floor the library is to be moved to the rear of the building, a change which gives a greater storing capacity to the extent of 10,000 volumes. and a largo smoke-room and cafe are to be provided. The second floor is to contain a dining-room, with seating accommodation for 168 members, together with another smoke-room and café. The third floor or top floor would enable the Graphic Club to be at last suitably housed in rooms constructed on the most modern lines for the exhibition of pictures, and it would also make it possible to revive the old Gymnastic Club, which at one time was such a feature of the institution. The kitchen and kitchen offices would also be placed on this floor, so that the smell of cooking could not pervade the remainder of the building. [Manchester Guardian 22 October 1912 page 6]

MANCHESTER. - During the last few months a scheme for the internal reconstruction of the Athenaeum has been under consideration, and it is expected that the work will be completed by the middle of November. The library has been removed from the first floor to that part of the basement which was formerly used as a chess room, and access to it will be through a staircase from the newsroom. In future the library will be arranged on the open access principle, and a special room opening off from the newsroom is to be devoted to directories and works of reference. The first floor will be used entirely for club purposes. A new lounge and smoke-room will take the space formerly occupied by the library, the old magazine room has been converted into the chess club, and a lunch counter has been provided. The cost of the works is estimated at about £2,000. [Building News 13 October 1915 Page 427]

Reference    Manchester Guardian 22 October 1912 page 6
Reference    Building News 4 August 1915 Page 137 - legal
Reference    British Architect 20 August 1915 p88 - legal
Reference    Building News 13 October 1915 Page 427