Footlights Bar, Aytoun Street

The Grand, former Grand Hotel, Aytoun Street. (c) philipjames.

Another bar in the old Grand Hotel on Aytoun Street, Footlights Bar was rebuilt in 1969 after a fire destroyed it.  Only a couple of decades later and the hotel has closed, converted into 'The Grand' apartments in 1988 by Ian Simpson Architects [1].  The Gaeity Bar was the main non-residents bar and it, like the Footlights Bar, was blessed with pristine loos.  The gents had hot water, plugs, towels, mirrors and shaving sockets - clearly an extravagance in the downtrodden '70s [2].

Footlights Bar, Aytoun Street. (c) Manchester Pub Surveys [2].

1. http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/architects/mills.html.

2. The Manchester Pub Guide: Manchester & Salford City Centres, Manchester Pub Surveys (1975).