14. Rising Again
The Regeneration of Salford Quays
From once thriving docks to abandonment and dereliction, the story of Salford Quays could have ended there. But one of the most extensive waterside regeneration projects in Europe has revived the Quays into a hive of culture and creativity...
Photograph: Night-time view across to The Lowry and the Millennium footbridge at Salford Quays.
Salford Quays was the regeneration phoenix rising from the ashes of the decline of the Manchester and Salford Docks.
Salford City Council purchased the docks in 1983 and The Salford Quays Development Plan set out improvements to the whole area.
It was a bold, ambitious and visionary plan that demonstrates how much can be achieved in one place when people invest and work together.
Photograph: Aerial view of The Lowry and regenerated Salford Quays.
Salford Quays had been transformed into a place for all Salfordians.
Public access to the waterfront was opened up alongside landscaping, jetties, moorings and the development of commercial, residential and leisure spaces. New roads, a marina, tree planting and new public spaces all contributed to the revival of the area.
Separating polluted water from the Ship Canal and installing a cleaning system also dramatically improved water quality. Later, the arrival of the Metrolink tram provided vital connectivity to Manchester and surrounding residential areas.
Then came The Lowry
The proposal for a new arts centre on Pier 8 was proposed in the early 1990s. 'The Lowry Project’ was made up of the Lowry building, the plaza, the Lowry footbridge, and other commercial development.
The Lowry building opened in April 2000 and is home to two theatres and the world's largest LS Lowry collection, along with gallery spaces, restaurants and bars.
Photograph: The Lowry - a theatre and gallery complex named after the early 20th-Century painter LS Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England.
LS Lowry, Salford’s most famous son
Laurence Stephen Lowry is one of the UK’s most celebrated artists.
And it just so happens he was born in 1887, the year construction of the Manchester Ship Canal began.
Famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of the north west, in the mid-20th Century, LS Lowry was considered by the art elite as a Sunday painter, an amateur, because he worked full time and painted in his free time.
Painting: LS Lowry The Lake 1937 © The Lowry Collection, Salford.
LS Lowry’s status was still being discussed as recently as 2011, when Sir Ian McKellen challenged the exclusion of Lowry artworks at the Tate for being too northern and provincial.
Salford’s most famous son was also fascinated by the sea:
“It's the battle of life – the turbulence of the sea .. I have been fond of the sea all my life, how wonderful it is, yet how terrible it is. But I often think... what if it suddenly changed its mind and didn't turn the tide? And came straight on? If it didn't stay and came on and on and on and on… That would be the end of it all.”
Painting: LS Lowry Seascape 1952 © The Lowry Collection, Salford.
The Lowry gallery has the biggest collection of the artist’s work in the world – 55 of his paintings and 278 drawings – with up to 100 on display.
