Geograph - photograph every grid square

One of Manchester's many landmark buildings. I remember being bowled over on arriving in the city as a callow student in 1985. Pevsner says the decoration is in a Northern Italian C16th style. Dark red brick and terracotta except for the orange terracotta at the top of the tower. It has weathered remarkably well. The further section is by Alfred Waterhouse, 1891-95, the nearer, including the tower (SJ8497 : Detail of former Refuge Assurance Company, Oxford Street, Manchester (1) and SJ8497 : Detail of former Refuge Assurance Company, Oxford Street, Manchester (2)), by Alfred's son, Paul, 1910-12, and Stanley Birkett extended it along Whitworth Street (out of shot) in 1932. Grade II* listed.
It was converted into a hotel in the late 1990s (the Palace Hotel).
See also: SJ8497 : Former Refuge Assurance Company, Oxford Street, Manchester (1).