Principal Hotel Clock Tower, Manchester

30 September 2019 · Manchester

The Principal Hotel's Victorian clock tower, shot from street level looking straight up. The converging lines of red terracotta brick pull the eye from the ornate entrance arch to the clock face and on to the stepped crown above — the building does all the work. Gothic Revival detail at this scale rewards a slow look: carved stonework, arched windows, turrets flanking the main shaft. An overcast Manchester sky holds the composition flat and keeps the warm brick as the dominant note.