Woolworths, former location of Albion Hotel, Piccadilly, 1979. (c) MEN .
The Albion Hotel sat on the site of the old Woolworths building, on Piccadilly at the bottom of Oldham Street. The pub is pictured here in 1880, 1926 after a new facade, and this great 1902 photo shows the Albion in the background of these horse-drawn trams. There was an adjoining Albion Hotel Vaults to the rear, accessible off Back Piccadilly [1]. The Woolworths building replaced the Albion and it seems that some of the signage from the Albion was used for the Yates's Albion Hotel further down Piccadilly towards Market Street.
Woolworth building, Piccadilly, 1979. (c) Woolworths Reunited.
Woolworths tragically suffered a fire on 8th May 1979 (the same sad day that Thatcher took power) in which 10 people lost their lives. This Evening News account of the disaster describes how those who died would have survived if they'd taken the smoke a bit more seriously. There is little left to indicate that the building was Woolworths' except for the stone company monogram which can be seen to the rear on Back Piccadilly. The Nobles Amusement Centre resides in the lower part of the building these days.
1. Manchester (Piccadilly), Alan Godfrey Maps (2009).
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