1501 Broadway

1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, is a 33-story office building on Times Square between West 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was erected from 1925 to 1927 as the headquarters of Paramount Pictures. The building is designed in the Art Deco style, with Beaux-Arts influences. The office wing on Times Square contains numerous setbacks as mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution, while the rear wing housed the Paramount Theatre from 1926 to 1967. Newmark & Company owns 1501 Broadway.

The facade is mostly designed with brick walls, though the first five stories are ornamented with limestone piers. The main entrance is on 43rd Street. There is also a five-story arch on Broadway, facing Times Square, which leads to a Hard Rock Cafe; it is an imitation of the former Paramount Theatre entrance. Atop the building is a four-faced clock, with two large faces and two small faces, as well as an illuminated globe that could display the time. The ground floor historically had an ornate lobby leading to the theater, which had 3,664 seats over four levels. The modern building contains office space in both the original office wing and the theater wing.

Paramount predecessor Famous Players–Lasky proposed the theater in 1922, but Rapp and Rapp had revised the plans to include an office tower by 1924. The theater opened on November 19, 1926, though the offices did not open until the following year. The clock and globe on the roof were blacked out during World War II. A group led by David Rosenthal converted the theater to offices in 1967 and removed the theater's original arch. The Paramount Building's facade became a New York City designated landmark in 1988. The arch, clock, and globe were restored starting in the late 1990s, and the main entrance was relocated in another renovation in the 2010s.

## Site

The Paramount Building is on 1501 Broadway, between 43rd and 44th Streets, at Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. While the building carries a Broadway address, it is actually on the west side of Seventh Avenue. The section of Broadway and Seventh Avenue between 43rd and 45th Streets is officially listed on city maps as "Times Square", but the adjoining section of Broadway was converted into a permanent pedestrian plaza in the 2010s. The Paramount Building's rectangular land lot covers 41,586 square feet (3,863.5 m2), with a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on Broadway and 207 feet (63 m) on 43rd and 44th Streets.

The surrounding area is part of Manhattan's Theater District and contains many Broadway theatres. 1501 Broadway shares the block with 229 West 43rd Street, the Hayes Theater, and the St. James Theatre to the west. Other nearby buildings include the Majestic Theatre, the Broadhurst Theatre, and the Shubert Theatre to the northwest; One Astor Plaza to the north; 1530 Broadway to the northeast; 1500 Broadway to the east; 4 Times Square and One Times Square to the southeast; 3 Times Square to the south; the American Airlines Theatre, Lyric Theatre, and New Victory Theater to the southwest.

Prior to the development of the Paramount Building, the eastern portion of the site had been occupied by the Putnam Building, a six-story commercial structure. It was named after American Revolutionary War general Israel Putnam, who had passed through the site in 1776 during the war. The Putnam Building had long been occupied by theatrical agencies and, before its demolition in 1925, had a large electric sign measuring 200 by 50 feet (61 by 15 m) on its facade. The western part of the site was occupied by a group of brownstones, operated by the Astor family as a set of apartments called Westover Court. The Astor family had owned the land since 1803. Until about 1850, the vicinity had also been known as the "Eden Farm" a title that came from a previous landowner.

## Architecture

1501 Broadway was designed by brothers Cornelius Ward Rapp and George Leslie Rapp, of the firm Rapp and Rapp, in the Beaux-Arts and Art Deco styles. It was constructed from 1925 to 1927 as the headquarters of Paramount Pictures, one of the major American motion picture companies in the 1920s. R. E. Hall & Co. were the construction engineers, and Thompson–Starrett Co. was the general contractor; numerous other engineers, contractors, and suppliers were involved in the building's construction. 1501 Broadway contains 33 stories, although early reports cite the structure as containing 35 stories. It measures 372 feet (113 m) tall to its roof and 455 feet (139 m) to its pinnacle. At the time of its completion, the Paramount Building was the tallest building in Times Square, as well as Broadway's tallest building north of the Woolworth Building.

### Form

1501 Broadway was designed in two parts: the 33-story office section in the front, along Broadway, and a shorter wing in the rear, which formerly housed the Paramount Theatre. This was typical of New York City theater buildings, where the theater was relegated to cheaper lots on side streets, while the office space took up the more valuable frontage on the main avenues. While the building had initially been planned with a 29-story office section, this was changed in the middle of construction. The office tower's decorative details was influenced by the Beaux-Arts style, while the theater was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style. The Art Deco decoration was limited largely to the massing.

1501 Broadway contains eight setbacks, seven of which are above the theater wing. The setbacks are placed on all sides as mandated under the 1916 Zoning Resolution. On 43rd Street, the theater wing is twelve stories tall. On 44th Street, the theater wing is nine stories tall, except for the westernmost bay, which is fourteen stories tall with a setback on the 12th story. Along the office wing, the setbacks on the north, east, and south elevations start above the 18th story; there are six setbacks on these elevations, placed at regular intervals. Each setback is separated by two or three stories. The office wing's west elevation rises above the roof of the theater wing, with a small setback on the 26th story and a deeper setback on the 28th story. The top section of 1501 Broadway rises above the 28th story and is two bays deep. The massing was intended to resemble that of a pyramid or a mountain as depicted in the Paramount Pictures logo.

### Facade

#### Base

The first five stories of both wings are clad in limestone and constitute the building's base. The ground story contains storefronts. The main entrance since 2018 is on 43rd Street, with bronze doors and a bronze marquee sign. The 2nd through 4th stories are divided into bays, containing three-story window openings flanked by rusticated piers. The windows on each story are separated by iron spandrels and are divided by vertical iron mullions. The spandrels are ornamented with classical motifs, as well as theatrical icons such as masks, scrolls, and festoons. The 5th story contains one-over-one sash windows with metal frames. Between the 5th-story windows are oval cartouches.

The theater entrance was near the south end of the eastern elevation, facing Broadway. Originally, it had a five-story archway and an elaborate curved marquee. The original archway was removed in the late 1960s and replaced with windows and rusticated piers, which were taken from the 43rd Street elevation. The only indication of the former archway was the presence of blank limestone panels instead of windows on the 5th story. The arch was restored in 2001 and is constructed of concrete reinforced with glass fibers. The archway is surrounded by a frame with scrolls, rosettes, and lyre players, attached to a steel frame. The replica marquee, measuring 39 feet (12 m) wide, is made of three glass panels, reinforced with plastic and finished in bronze. The marquee includes a curved LED display but was otherwise designed to match historical specifications. A sign with the name "Paramount" is mounted over the archway and contains 400 lights.

Prior to 2018, the main office entrance was just north of the center bay along Broadway; the opening still exists but leads to a retail space. It contains a double-height limestone frame with a lintel above the second floor. The doorway is divided vertically into a large center section flanked by two narrower sections. At ground level, the entrance includes a set of double doors, flanked by a single door, all made of brass and glass. Above the center doors is a clock flanked by brackets. There are windows above the remainder of the ground floor, as well as another set of windows on the 2nd story. The ground and 2nd stories of the doorway are separated by decorative iron spandrels; the center panel has an oval motif. The spandrels contain other motifs including theater masks, instruments, and branches. The building's cornerstone is placed in a niche within the former main entrance. The cornerstone includes copper boxes with several newspapers' front pages, gold coins, film reels, and a news reel showing Richard E. Byrd's 1926 North Pole flight.

#### Office stories

Starting on the 6th story of the office tower, the window openings generally contain one-over-one windows, which are grouped into bays. The bays are divided by alternating narrow and wide piers. The narrow piers are plain, while the wide piers are either rusticated or plain. The rusticated piers project slightly from the facade. The rear wing on 43rd and 44th Streets has double-hung windows separated by plain piers. On 44th Street, there are oval openings at the ninth story, which are surrounded by festoons. The top of the rear wing on 44th Street is decorated with acroteria.

The setbacks of the office tower contain parapets. Below the parapets were floodlights that originally illuminated the setbacks at night to emphasize the jagged massing. Over one thousand lights were used in the setbacks' lighting system. Trapezoidal finials, designed to resemble obelisks, are placed at the setback level atop many of the rusticated piers. On the 28th through 30th stories, there are oversized consoles on the north and south elevations.

#### Clock and globe

The Paramount Building has a large four-faced clock above its 30th story. The clock faces on the west and east are made of limestone, with metal minute and hour hands. The west and east clock faces measure about 25 feet (7.6 m) wide. Inset within the stone are twelve circular glass panels, which measure 4 feet (1.2 m) high and denote the hours. These panels contain five-pointed stars, forming a circle of stars as used in the Paramount Pictures logo. The hour and minute hands were originally illuminated. Flanking these faces is a pair of setback pavilions with oval cartouches and rusticated piers. The north and south clock faces are placed on these setback pavilions. They are made with metal frames and are smaller than those on the west and east. The clock faces were mechanically operated from the building's completion.

Above the clock faces is a stone frieze and trapezoidal corner obelisks. The top of the building contains a copper pedestal with an ornamental glass and copper sphere measuring 19 feet (5.8 m) across. The sphere is made of 90 square panels, originally decorated with a map of the world. A smokestack is placed within the globe, measuring 2.5 feet (0.76 m) wide, with a maintenance ladder and catwalks inside. The globe was intended to signify Paramount predecessor Famous Players–Lasky, and it originally illuminated once every 15 minutes. In its early years, the globe could be seen from several miles away at night. During World War II, the globe and clock were painted black to maintain blackout conditions for fear of an enemy invasion. They were restored in 1996. After its restoration, the globe was lit a constant white after dusk, with red pulses every 15 minutes to signify the time, as well as bell chimes.

In November 1927, a rooftop observation deck opened above the clock at a height of 450 feet (140 m). It included glass-enclosed rooms on either side of the clock. Adults were charged 50 cents for admission, while children paid 25 cents. The observation deck has since been closed. The observation area is narrow, though urban explorers have climbed onto the deck.

### Interior

The central entrance on Broadway led to the offices, while the ornate arched entrance on the south end of the Broadway elevation led to the Paramount Theatre. At ground level, a large amount of space was occupied by the theater's entrance, and other space was taken up by seven storefronts. There was also store space in the basement, as well as a foundation that extended 52 feet (16 m) deep. In total, the building had 6,000 square feet (560 m2) of stores and 2,000 square feet (190 m2) of basements. The office section of the building originally comprised 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) or 265,000 square feet (24,600 m2). The entire building was served by an emergency staircase, and there were toilets on every floor.

#### Lobby and elevators

The original Broadway lobby was relatively small; no one had to travel more than 35 feet (11 m) between the street and any elevator. The space had a travertine floor and polished black-veined marble walls. There was a tenant directory facing the main entrance, as well as a mail chute on the wall between the directory and the entrance. The lobby had a shallow vaulted ceiling with low-relief ornamentation, a gold finish, and bronze chandeliers. Inset into the walls were bronze elevator doors. Originally, the lobby was served by six local and six express elevators. The local elevators traveled only to the 18th floor, while the express elevators skipped some intermediate stories and traveled to the 28th floor. Visitors to the observation deck had to take an express elevator, then transfer to a lift that served the upper offices.

On one side of the lobby was a broad travertine staircase, which led to a second-story banking room occupied by the Chemical National Bank. This banking room was finished with a terrazzo floor and marble base, while all the trim and the counter screens were made of wood. The lower part of the counter screen, and the wainscoting on the walls, were composed of molded wood paneling. which was painted white. The upper part of the counter screen was framed in walnut with a natural finish, and all of the furniture and fixtures of the officers' platform were also made of walnut. Above the woodwork, the walls and ceiling were finished in white-tinted plaster.

In 2018, a third-story sky lobby was completed. The sky lobby includes a two-story escalator atrium and an additional elevator from the entrance on 43rd Street. The offices were originally served by twelve elevators that could travel at up to 700 feet per minute (210 m/min). As of 2021, there are 22 elevators in the building.

#### Former theater space

The interior of the theater was decorated with French detailing. The arch connected to a domed rotunda measuring 50 feet (15 m) tall, supported by veined-marble columns on black-and-gold bases. A "Hall of Nations" was just past the rotunda. The Hall of Nations had rocks from 37 countries, accompanied by explanatory plaques, as well as a bust of Thomas Edison. Past that was a grand hall along 43rd Street, which was modeled on the Versailles chapel and measured 150 feet (46 m) long by up to 50 feet (15 m) wide. The hall's design features were also inspired by that of the Paris Opera House's foyer, with white marble columns, balustrades, and a grand staircase flanking the hallway. The vaulted ceiling rose to a height of 50 feet (15 m) and had a mural of the Sun King. Elevators connected with the Paramount Theatre's mezzanine levels and with a basement lounge. An enormous crystal chandelier was hung from the hall.

The 3,664-seat auditorium was at the rear of the building. It was 10 stories tall, with three levels of balcony seats, as well as a promenade for visitors to look down at the theater from overhead. The orchestra was at the south end, while the stage was at the north end. The theater was decorated in rose, turquoise, and ivory colors, with red and gold draperies, as well as a cyclorama-style wall at the rear of the stage. Fountains flanked the proscenium arch above the stage. The height of the theater was emphasized by decorated vertical panels on either side of the proscenium. The theater housed a large organ built by the Wurlitzer company. The railings were manufactured from brass. There were Greek statues and busts carved in wall niches, while the restrooms and waiting rooms were grandiose in style in comparison to cathedrals at the time. In addition to the auditorium, there was a music room and three rehearsal rooms. Various rooms were decorated with artwork, and there were seating lounges and a tea gallery as well. The side rooms were given names, such as the Elizabethan Room, a mixed-gender lounge paneled in walnut.

The theater space was converted to offices in 1967, requiring the installation of 64 steel columns within the auditorium shell. The former auditorium is spanned by eight trusses, each measuring 122 feet (37 m) and weighing 144 short tons (129 long tons; 131 t). The former theater lobby's space is occupied by a Hard Rock Cafe restaurant, spread across 5,500 square feet (510 m2) on the ground floor and 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) in the basement, as well as a Hard Rock Cafe store measuring 1,500 square feet (140 m2). The restaurant can fit 600 diners or 1,000 concertgoers.

#### Offices

The offices were decorated with similar French motifs as the rest of the building. The fourth through twelfth stories, originally occupied by Famous Players–Lasky, included 65 executive offices that were finished in walnut, and some rooms contained veneers of burled walnut, The veneers contained carvings of figures that matched the burled surfaces of the wood. The private offices of Famous Players–Lasky cofounders Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky were decorated with walnut-paneled walls, separated by wide moldings. These offices had large ceiling beams, which were clad with walnut panels and separated by plaster coffers; the casement windows in these offices contained stained glass panels.

The stories below the 18th floor each contained 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2), while the upper stories were smaller because of the setbacks, tapering to 2,100 square feet (200 m2) at the top. As a result of the setbacks, the floors were also built in eleven different sizes. The smaller upper stories were advertised as being suitable for companies that wanted to consolidate their offices on a full story and occupy it for themselves. Another 190,000 square feet (18,000 m2) or 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of office space was added in the late 1960s with the renovation of the former theater wing. The conversion created floor plates of up to 37,000 square feet (3,400 m2) on the lowest stories.

## History

Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and the Great Depression. Famous Players–Lasky, the predecessor to the Paramount Corporation, had been formed in 1916. The company formed a subsidiary, the 1493 Broadway Corporation, to buy the Putnam Building and Westover Court on Times Square in 1919. During the 1920s, Famous Players–Lasky president Adolph Zukor had acquired a controlling interest in the Chicago-based Balaban and Katz theatre chain, operated by Sam Katz, who became the head of Paramount's theatre division. Balaban and Katz had a long working relationship with Chicago architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, which had designed numerous theaters for Katz's company in the Midwest.

### Development

#### Planning

In June 1922, Famous Players–Lasky received a \$5.5 million loan from the Prudence Bonds Corporation, and it planned to spend \$2.5 million on a 4,000-seat movie theater behind the Putnam Building. Rapp and Rapp were hired to design the new theater. Shortly afterward, Famous Players–Lasky signed a 21-year lease with the 1493 Broadway Corporation. Though Famous Players–Lasky had encountered difficulties in funding its motion pictures by late 1923, Zukor said the corporation would proceed once the lease on Westover Court expired the following year. The size of the site would have allowed a theater with up to 7,000 seats, but this would have required an extremely crowded seating arrangement. Famous Players–Lasky had raised \$2 million toward funding the building's construction when it had run into financial issues. Ultimately, the company implemented a financing plan, wherein it cleared the debt from the bond issues. After Famous Players–Lasky's financial issues were resolved, in October 1924, Zukor announced that the company would construct the theater and an office tower.

Early in 1925, Zukor appointed a special committee to oversee the development of the office tower and the as-yet-unnamed theater. That April, Famous Players–Lasky announced that it would erect the 29-story Paramount Building and an adjoining theater for \$13.5 million, and Rapp and Rapp filed building plans. The land alone was valued at \$4.24 million, an increase from \$3.2 million in 1917. In addition to the theater, the building would include ground-story stores, Famous Players–Lasky's offices, a radio broadcasting station, a private rehearsal theater, and a children's nursery. The theater would be operated as part of Famous Players–Lasky's Publix chain. The lowest two stories and the 16th through 31st stories would be rented out, except to theatrical agents, who would instead be offered space at Paramount Studios in Queens. The theater was planned to be completed first, followed by the office tower. The tenants of Westover Court were asked to leave the site by the beginning of June 1925, and the Putnam Building was to be demolished by that October.

#### Construction

Demolition contracts were awarded in May 1925. Famous Players–Lasky kept a film record of the work, starting with the demolition of Westover Court. To celebrate the project, Famous Players–Lasky held a barbecue in the nearby Hotel Astor that August, serving oxen and lamb that had been roasted over Westover Court's ruins. By September, the Putnam Building was slated to be demolished. In January 1926, the Paramount Broadway Corporation issued a first mortgage consisting of \$10 million in bonds with a maturity of 25 years. The same month, the Paramount Broadway Corporation leased the building to Famous Players–Lasky for 25 years at an annual rental of \$807,500. By then, the site's valuation had increased to \$6 million, making it one of the most valuable sites in the neighborhood. The Broadway Association was tasked with arranging a dedication ceremony for the Paramount Building.

The excavations descended about 53 feet (16 m) into the underlying layer of bedrock. During excavations in February 1926, a water main and a gas main broke, flooding the site. Later that month, the Thompson-Starrett Company began erecting the steel trusses above the auditorium. Traveling derricks were used for the process, which was captured on film and which attracted a large crowd. Inclement weather during that month led to slight delays, prompting Thompson-Starrett to hire contractors for overnight shifts to make up for the lost time. By the end of March, the auditorium's trusses were completed and the steel for the office tower was being erected. In addition, the offices on the first 13 stories had been completely rented, as were much of the 18th through 23rd stories.

Mayor Jimmy Walker laid the ceremonial cornerstone on May 19, 1926, at a ceremony attended by Paramount's cofounders (Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky), as well as various producers and actors. One of the building's architects, C. W. Rapp, died the following month during the construction. The office tower topped out on August 2, 1926, with the raising of the U.S. flag 450 feet (140 m) above street level. The same month, Roman governor Filippo Cremonesi presented an eagle from a Roman palace, on behalf of Italian leader Benito Mussolini, for the theater's Hall of Nations. At that point, a variety of firms had leased space at the building, including Rapp and Rapp, the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the Educational Film Corporation of America. In mid-November 1926, the New York Building Congress distributed craftsmanship awards to 21 construction workers.

### Early and mid-20th century

#### Opening and 1920s

The Paramount Theatre opened on November 19, 1926, with a ceremony including thousands of guests. This was part of a three-day celebration of Broadway's 300th anniversary, which included an event in which thousands of balloons were released from the roof of the office tower. To date, \$17 million had been spent on the entire project, including \$3 million on the theater alone. Within a week of the theater's opening, Famous Players–Lasky estimated that the theater would earn \$20,000 a week in net profit. The retail tenants included Chemical Bank, Childs Restaurants, the Knox Hat Company, and the Sarnoff-Irving Hat Store, while the office tenants included four firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange. William A. White & Sons managed the leasing for the Paramount Building. Zukor had the top-story office for himself.

By January 1927, the building was 35 percent rented; the office structure was completed early that year. Some of the storefronts began opening that May, including a barber shop and the Chemical Bank branch. Rapp and Rapp filed plans in July 1927 to convert the basement to a restaurant, and the observation deck opened that November. The building's retail tenants paid rent to Paramount based on a percentage of each tenants' gross profits. Paramount executives frequently patronized the shops, including a 3rd-story barbershop, the Childs Restaurant in the basement, and a Walgreens pharmacy at ground level. Rapp and Rapp filed plans for further alterations in late 1928. By then, Famous Players–Lasky was officially known as the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation; that company, in turn, became Paramount Publix in 1930.

#### 1930s to 1950s

The office tower received several new tenants in the 1930s, including Fusion Party campaign offices, advertisers Donahue & Coe, and Prudential Insurance. By February 1933, Publix was in receivership and seeking to reduce its rent payments; in so doing, the firm moved to downsize its space. A bankruptcy court agreed to reorganize the Paramount Building's debt in May 1934. The yearly interest rate on the bonds was lowered temporarily until half the principal of the bonds was paid off. Paramount Broadway also sued to have the tax assessment for the building reduced by \$3 million. Despite opposition by bondholders, Paramount Publix reorganized as Paramount Pictures Inc. in April 1935 and restructured its subsidiary, the Paramount Broadway Corporation. Paramount Pictures owned all stock in Paramount Broadway. The Paramount Theatre at the base closed for one week in 1934, the only extended closure in the theater's history. The next year, the clock faces were refurbished after the hands had become badly corroded.

Paramount Broadway continued to post losses in the years after the reorganization. Conversely, the Paramount Theatre at the building's base became highly popular, especially for live musical performances, hosting performers such as Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra. William A. White & Son prepared the building for air raids at the beginning of World War II, which led the building to earn an award for air-raid readiness in 1943. In addition, the Paramount Building's tenants collected scrap paper for the war effort, and the globe and clock atop the building were blacked out. By the end of 1944, Paramount Broadway had paid off a \$6 million mortgage on the building. Paramount attempted to sell the office building in 1948. After marketing the building for a few months and failing to find a buyer, the company listed it publicly that September for \$13 million. The clock faces were repaired in mid-1949.

In 1949, Paramount Pictures' board of directors voted to split the theater unit to a separate company, United Paramount Theatres (UPT). The building became the UPT's headquarters, and UPT leased the theater from Paramount Pictures. In addition, Paramount received a \$9 million loan from Prudential Insurance in September 1950, including a \$7 million mortgage on the Paramount Building. After UPT's merger with ABC in 1953, the building continued as American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT)'s headquarters. The Child's Restaurant and Walgreens store at the base, which had occupied the building since its completion, were closed in 1957. AB-PT relocated its headquarters to the ABC studios on 66th Street in 1959, though ABC's film syndication units remained at the Paramount Building. The theater had dropped its stage-show policy in 1952 but was still popular, though it faced increasing competition from television.

### Late 20th century to present

#### Sale and annex conversion

William Zeckendorf Jr. of the firm Webb & Knapp offered to buy 1501 Broadway in June 1964, with plans to replace the Paramount Theatre with an exhibit hall and office space. A Webb & Knapp subsidiary had made a \$150,000 down payment, with a promise to pay \$350,000 before the sale's closing and \$10 million at closing. The theater shuttered on August 4, 1964, though it temporarily reopened the next month. Paramount Pictures indicated it would remain in the building. The conclusion of the sale was postponed to October, then to November, when the theater's art was auctioned. 1501 Broadway was finally purchased in December 1964 by Paramount Building Associates, an affiliate of Webb & Knapp, for \$10.5 million. By then, Webb & Knapp was financially troubled and was selling off property to pay off debts. The Paramount Theatre was leased for stage/screen programs in March 1965 but closed again that June after failing to attract guests.

Paramount Building Associates contracted to resell 1501 Broadway in May 1965 to Evelyn Sharp, who paid \$9 million and planned to renovate the building. Mortimer M. Caplin had been appointed as trustee for Webb & Knapp's operations, and he sought to delay the sale of the building to Sharp. The property title was to have been transferred in June 1965, but Caplin objected to the transfer at the last minute. Caplin presumably wanted Webb & Knapp's \$500,000 deposit on the building to be returned to his client. This led Sharp to withdraw from the proposed sale, allowing Caplin to proceed with selling the building at a foreclosure auction. Though the auction garnered no buyers, the building was sold that September to David Rosenthal, Joseph E. Levine, and Philip J. Levin. ABC moved to 1330 Avenue of the Americas afterward, while Paramount moved out after becoming part of the Gulf & Western conglomerate.

The owners planned to build a garage at ground level with offices above. The group began renovating the Paramount Building in January 1967. As part of the renovation, the Paramount Theatre was dismantled and turned into office space, and the archway leading to the theater was removed. That March, Rosenthal and Levine sold their ownership stakes to Levin and Arlen Properties, who split ownership equally between them. Existing tenants were not disrupted by the demolition of the old theater, which had been completed by that October. A branch of the New York Bank for Savings opened in the base in early 1968, while construction was still ongoing, forcing the tellers to wear hard hats.

#### 1970s to 1990s

Newmark & Company managed the building on behalf of Arlen, signing ten-year leases for the expanded office stories. Major tenants in the newly converted offices included The New York Times, the Offtrack Betting Corporation, Lane Bryant, and the Metropolitan Diagnostic Institute. The newly converted office space was not fully leased until the mid-1970s. By the end of that decade, many lower-story tenants had chosen not to renew, including the Times and Lane Bryant, but Newmark had added other tenants, including the Internal Revenue Service and Hardesty & Hanover. By contrast, the upper stories were fully rented. In addition to the larger tenants, the Paramount Building hosted smaller offices such as those of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. All of the space in the building had been rented by the mid-1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Paramount Building as a city landmark in November 1988. The building was designated for its historical importance to the motion-picture industry and for its architectural importance as an Art Deco skyscraper. In 1996, Newmark received permission from the LPC to restore the clock and globe atop the building and the large arch on Broadway. An imitation of the original marquee was to be placed in front of the arch. This was part of the company's effort to attract a retailer to the basement. Planet Hollywood, which planned to lease the basement, was to pay for the restoration. The restoration of the clock and globe involved changing the power supply and rebuilding the clock mechanism. The clock and globe were restored at the end of 1997.

Planet Hollywood spent \$13 million on renovating 1501 Broadway's ground-floor space into a venue for live music. Tobin Parnes was the restoration architect. The project entailed lowering the basement by 7 feet (2.1 m), removing three support columns, and lengthening nine more columns. Following Planet Hollywood's financial troubles, it sold the basement and first-floor space to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment (WWF; later WWE) in July 1999 for \$9 million. WWF planned to open a theme restaurant at the base, known as The World, and the company spent \$7.5 million.

#### 2000s to present

The World opened in 2000. That May, the LPC approved the addition of an LED marquee after initially hesitating to do so. The new marquee was unveiled with an American flag display on September 12, 2001, one day after the September 11 attacks. WWE closed its store and restaurant in early 2003, only three years after opening the restaurant. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company opened a restaurant in the building that year. Hard Rock Cafe decided to move into the WWE space in 2004, citing the improvements that WWE had already made. Numerous retailers took space at 1501 Broadway in the early 2010s including Ben & Jerry's and the New York Yankees.

Paramount Leasehold LP, the building's owner, obtained a \$130 million mortgage from Cantor Commercial Real Estate in 2013. Paramount Leasehold planned to spend \$50 million on renovating the building; it also considered adding an entrance on 43rd Street. At the time, 1501 Broadway was 70 percent occupied, and its tenants included entertainment companies and attorneys. The LPC approved the renovation project in 2016. The lobby was moved from Broadway to 43rd Street, and a tenant lounge was installed on the third story. In addition, elevators and escalators were added, while hallways, restrooms, and windows were upgraded. The contractors replicated the historical features using plaster moldings, and some original architectural details were salvaged and relocated. A specialty contractor provided the custom cast-bronze pieces and an Italian quarry supplied marble for the renovation.

The lobby relocation was completed in mid-2018, after which Newmark signed leases with tenants such as the KIPP Foundation and the American Federation of Musicians. The entire renovation was completed in 2019. JPMorgan Chase gave Levin and Newmark a \$200 million loan for 1501 Broadway in early 2020, and the owners began adding a tenant lounge on the third story that year. Ticketing platform TodayTix moved to 1501 Broadway in 2022.

## Critical reception

When the Paramount Building was completed, architect Francisco Mujica wrote that the building exemplified how setback skyscrapers resembled "the primitive pyramids of America". H. I. Brock of The New York Times wrote that the Paramount Building was "the most extraordinary pile in New York". Conversely, Lewis Mumford said "the posters describe it as the greatest palace that shadows have built", a phrase that had been created by film industry promoters, "but it is in fact the greatest shadow that shadows have built". While Mumford characterized the exterior as something that nobody could see, he called the interior "the reminiscence of a grandiose nightmare that might follow a rather arduous day of sightseeing in Paris". George Shepard Chappell, writing in The New Yorker under the pseudonym "T-Square", wrote that he could not "conscientiously give the building anything except size"; in Chappell's view, this fit with the "concentrated tawdriness" of Times Square.

In the 1980s, The New York Times wrote that Times Square's skyline was characterized by "the beautiful Astor Hotel, the sleekly new Paramount Building and, of course, Times Tower". The Times wrote that despite 1501 Broadway's location at the middle of Times Square, "some New Yorkers have never bothered craning their necks to see" the building's attributes, including its globe and clock. 1501 Broadway was also significant in the film industry. Years after the destruction of the theater and the relocation of Paramount itself, Variety magazine said that "1501 Broadway will always be a symbol of 'where the action was'".

## See also

- Architecture of New York City
  - Art Deco architecture of New York City
- List of buildings and structures on Broadway in Manhattan
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan


Manchester Ship Canal

The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet (18 m) to the canal's terminus in Manchester. Landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the world's only swing aqueduct, and Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate and still the largest in Europe.

The rivers Mersey and Irwell were first made navigable in the early 18th century. Goods were also transported on the Runcorn extension of the Bridgewater Canal (from 1776) and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (from 1830), but by the late 19th century the Mersey and Irwell Navigation had fallen into disrepair and was often unusable. In addition, Manchester's business community viewed the charges imposed by Liverpool's docks and the railway companies as excessive. A ship canal was therefore proposed to give ocean-going vessels direct access to Manchester. The region was suffering from the Long Depression; the canal's proponents argued that the scheme would boost competition and create jobs. They built public support for the scheme, which was first presented to Parliament as a bill in 1882. Faced with stiff opposition from Liverpool, the canal's supporters were unable to gain the necessary Act of Parliament to allow the scheme to go ahead until 1885.

Construction began in 1887; it took six years and cost £15 million (equivalent to about £1.65 billion in 2011). When the ship canal opened in January 1894 it was the largest river navigation canal in the world, and enabled the new Port of Manchester to become Britain's third-busiest port despite being about 40 miles (64 km) inland. Changes to shipping methods and the growth of containerisation during the 1970s and '80s meant that many ships were now too big to use the canal and traffic declined, resulting in the closure of the terminal docks at Salford. Although able to accommodate vessels from coastal ships to intercontinental cargo liners, the canal is not large enough for most modern vessels. By 2011 traffic had decreased from its peak in 1958 of 18 million long tons (20 million short tons) of freight each year to about 7 million long tons (7.8 million short tons). The canal is now privately owned by Peel Holdings, whose plans include redevelopment, expansion, and an increase in shipping from 8,000 containers a year to 100,000 by 2030 as part of their Atlantic Gateway project.

## History

The canal was completed just as the Long Depression was coming to an end, but in its early years it was not the commercial success its sponsors had hoped for. At first gross revenue was less than a quarter of expected net revenue, and throughout at least the first nineteen years of the canal it was unable to make a profit or meet the interest payments to the Corporation of Manchester. Many ship owners were reluctant to dispatch ocean-going vessels along a "locked cul-de-sac" at a maximum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph). The Ship Canal Company found it difficult to attract a diversified export trade, which meant that ships frequently had to return down the canal loaded with ballast rather than freight. However traffic gradually developed and the Canal became successful, paying dividends from 1921 onwards. As the import trade in oil began to grow during the 20th century the balance of canal traffic gradually switched towards the west, from Salford to Stanlow. Unlike most other British canals, the Manchester Ship Canal was never nationalised.

### Early history

The idea that the rivers Mersey and Irwell should be made navigable from the Mersey Estuary in the west to Manchester in the east was first proposed in 1660 and revived in 1712 by the English civil engineer Thomas Steers. The necessary legislation was proposed in 1720, and the Act of Parliament for the navigation passed into law in 1721. Construction began in 1724, undertaken by the Mersey & Irwell Navigation Company. By 1734 boats "of moderate size" were able to make the journey from quays near Water Street in Manchester to the Irish Sea, but the navigation was only suitable for small ships; during periods of low rainfall or when strong easterly winds held back the tide in the estuary, there was not always sufficient depth of water for a fully laden boat. The completion in 1776 of the Runcorn extension of the Bridgewater Canal, followed in 1830 by the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, intensified competition for the carriage of goods. In 1825 an application had been made to Parliament for an Act to allow the construction of a ship canal between the mouth of the River Dee and Manchester at a cost of £1 million, but "the necessary forms not having been observed", it did not become law. In 1844 ownership of the Mersey & Irwell Navigation was transferred to the Bridgewater Trustees, and in 1872 it was sold to The Bridgewater Navigation Company for £1.112 million. The navigation had by then fallen into disrepair, its owners preferring instead to maintain the more profitable canal; in 1882 the navigation was described as being "hopelessly choked with silt and filth", and was closed to all but the smaller boats for 264 out of 311 working days.

Along with deteriorating economic conditions in the 1870s and the start of a period known as the Long Depression, the dues charged by the Port of Liverpool and the railway charges from there to Manchester were perceived to be excessive by Manchester's business community; it was often cheaper to import goods from Hull, on the opposite side of the country, than it was from Liverpool. A ship canal was proposed as a way to reduce carriage charges, avoid payment of dock and town dues at Liverpool, and bypass the Liverpool to Manchester railways by giving Manchester direct access to the sea for its imports and its exports of manufactured goods. Historian Ian Harford suggested that the canal may also have been conceived as an "imaginative response to [the] problems of depression and unemployment" that Manchester was experiencing during the early 1880s. Its proponents argued that reduced transport costs would make local industry more competitive and that the scheme would help create new jobs.

The idea was championed by Manchester manufacturer Daniel Adamson, who arranged a meeting at his home, The Towers in Didsbury, on 27 June 1882. He invited the representatives of several Lancashire towns, local businessmen and politicians, and two civil engineers: Hamilton Fulton and Edward Leader Williams. Fulton's design was for a tidal canal, with no locks and a deepened channel into Manchester. With the city about 60 feet (18 m) above sea level, the docks and quays would have been well below the surrounding surface. Williams' plan was to dredge a channel between a set of retaining walls, and build a series of locks and sluices to lift incoming vessels up to Manchester. Both engineers were invited to submit their proposals, and Williams' plans were selected to form the basis of a bill to be submitted to Parliament later that year.

### Public campaign

To generate support for the scheme, the provisional committee initiated a public campaign led by Joseph Lawrence, who had worked for the Hull and Barnsley Railway. His task was to set up committees in every ward in Manchester and throughout Lancashire, to raise subscriptions and sell the idea to the local public. The first meeting was held on 4 October in Manchester's Oxford Ward, followed by another on 17 October in the St. James Ward. Within a few weeks meetings had been held throughout Manchester and Salford, culminating in a conference on 3 November attended by the provisional committee and members of the various Ward Committees. A large meeting of the working classes, attended by several local notables including the general secretaries of several trade unions, was held on 13 November at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester.

Regular night-time meetings were held across the region, headed by speakers from a range of professions. Harford suggests that the organisers' choice of orators represents their "canny ability" to choose speakers who might move their audiences to support their cause. By adopting techniques used by the Anti-Corn Law League, their strategy was ultimately successful: local offices were acquired, secretaries hired and further meetings organised. The weekly Ship Canal Gazette, priced at one penny, was by the end of the year being sold at newsagents in towns across Lancashire. The Gazette was part of a prolonged print campaign organised by the committee, to circulate leaflets and pamphlets, and write supportive letters to the local press, often signed with pseudonyms. One of the few surviving leaflets, "The Manchester Ship Canal. Reasons why it Should be Made", argued against dock and railway rates, which were apparently levied "with the object of protecting the interests of Railway kings, [so that] trade is handicapped, and wages kept low". By the end of 1882 the provisional committee comprised members from several of Manchester's large industries, but notably few of the city's wealthier inhabitants. The sympathetic Manchester City News reported that "the rich men of South and East Lancashire, with a few notable exceptions, have not rivalled the enthusiasm of the general public".

### Bills

The Mersey Docks Board opposed the committee's first bill, presented late in 1882, and it was rejected by Parliament in January 1883 for breaching Standing Orders. Within six weeks the committee organised hundreds of petitions from a range of bodies across the country: one representing Manchester was signed by almost 200,000 people. The requirement for Standing Orders was dispensed with, and the represented bill allowed to proceed. Some witnesses against the scheme, worried that a canal would cause the entrance to the Mersey estuary to silt up, blocking traffic, cited the case of Chester harbour. This had silted up due to a man-made cut through the Dee estuary. Faced with conflicting evidence, Parliament rejected the bill. Later mass meetings were held, including a large demonstration at Pomona Gardens on 24 June 1884. Strong opposition from Liverpool led the House of Commons Committee to reject the committee's second bill on 1 August 1884.

The unresolved question of what would happen to the Mersey estuary if the canal was built had remained a sticking point. During questioning, an engineer for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board was asked how he would avoid such a problem. His reply, "I should enter at Eastham and carry the canal along the shore until I reached Runcorn, and then I would strike inland", prompted Williams to change his design to include this suggestion. Despite continued opposition, the committee's third bill, presented in November 1884, was passed by Parliament on 2 May 1885, and received royal assent on 6 August, becoming the Manchester Ship Canal Act 1885. Certain conditions were attached; £5 million had to be raised, and the ship canal company was legally obliged to buy both the Bridgewater Canal and the Mersey & Irwell Navigation within two years. The estimated cost of construction was £5.16 million, and the work was expected to take four years to complete.

### Financing

The enabling Act of Parliament stipulated that the ship canal company's £8 million share capital had to be issued within two years, otherwise the act would lapse. Adamson wanted to encourage the widest possible share ownership and believed the funds should be raised largely from the working population. Richard Peacock, vice-chairman of the Provisional Manchester Ship Canal Committee, said in 1882:

> No few individuals should be expected to subscribe and form a company for mere gain; it should be taken on by the public, and if it is not ... I for one should say drop the scheme ... unless I see the public coming forward in a hearty manner.

The act forbade the company from issuing shares below £10 so, to make them easier for ordinary people to buy, they issued shilling coupons in books of ten so they could be paid for in instalments. The construction costs and expected competition from the Port of Liverpool put off potential investors; by May 1887 only £3 million had been raised. As a temporary solution Thomas Walker, the contractor selected to construct the canal, agreed to accept £500,000 of the contract price in shares, but raising the remainder required another Act of Parliament to allow the company's share capital to be restructured as £3 million of ordinary shares and £4 million of preference shares. Adamson was convinced that the money should be raised from members of the public and opposed the debt restructuring, resigning as chairman of the Ship Canal Committee on 1 February 1887. Barings and Rothschild jointly issued a prospectus for the sale of the preference shares on 15 July, and by 21 July the issue had been fully underwritten, allowing construction to begin. The first sod was cut on 11 November 1887, by Lord Egerton of Tatton, who had taken over the chairmanship of the Manchester Ship Canal Company from Adamson.

The canal company exhausted its capital of £8 million in 4 years when only half the construction work was completed. To avoid bankruptcy they appealed for funds to Manchester Corporation, which set up a Ship Canal Committee. On 9 March 1891, the corporation decided, on the committee's recommendation, to lend the necessary £3 million, to preserve the city's prestige. In return, the corporation was allowed to appoint five of the fifteen members of the board of directors. The company subsequently raised its estimates of the cost of completion in September 1891 and again in June 1892. An executive committee was appointed as an emergency measure in December 1891, and on 14 October 1892 the Ship Canal Committee resolved to lend a further £1.5 million on condition that Manchester Corporation had an absolute majority on the canal company's board of directors and its various sub-committees. The corporation subsequently appointed 11 of the 21 seats, nominated Alderman Sir John Harwood as deputy director of the company, and secured majorities on five of the board's six sub-committees. The cost to Manchester Corporation of financing the Ship Canal Company had a significant impact on local taxpayers. Manchester's municipal debt rose by 67 per cent, resulting in a 26 per cent increase in rates between 1892 and 1895.

However well this arrangement served the corporation, by the mid-1980s it had become "meaningless". Most of the company's shares were controlled by the property developer John Whittaker, and in 1986 the council agreed to give up all but one of its seats in return for a payment of £10 million. The deal extricated Manchester Council from a politically difficult conflict of interest, as Whittaker was proposing to develop a large out of town shopping centre on land owned by the Ship Canal Company at Dumplington, the present-day Trafford Centre. The council opposed the scheme, believing that it would damage the city centre economy, but accepted that it was "obviously in the interests of the shareholders".

### Construction

Thomas Walker was appointed as a contractor, with Edward Leader Williams as chief engineer and designer and general manager. The 36-mile (58 km) route was divided into eight sections, with one engineer responsible for each. The first reached from Eastham to Ellesmere Port. Mount Manisty, a large mound of earth on a narrow stretch between the canal and the Mersey northwest of Ellesmere Port, was constructed from soil taken from the excavations. It and the adjacent Manisty Cutting were named after the engineer in charge. The last section built was the passage from Weston Point through the Runcorn Gap to Norton; the existing docks at Runcorn and Weston had to be kept operational until they could be connected to the completed western sections of the ship canal.

For the first two years construction went according to plan, but Walker died on 25 November 1889. The work was continued by his executors, but the project suffered setbacks and was hampered by harsh weather and several serious floods. In January 1891, when the project had been expected to have been completed, a severe winter added to the difficulties; the Bridgewater Canal, the company's only source of income, was closed after a fall of ice. The company decided to take over the contracting work and bought all the on-site equipment for £400,000. Some railway companies, whose bridges had to be modified to cross the canal, demanded compensation. The London and North Western Railway and Great Western Railway refused to cooperate, and between them, they demanded about £533,000 for the inconvenience. The Ship Canal Company was unable to demolish the older, low railway bridges until August 1893, when the matter went to arbitration. The railway companies were awarded just over £100,000, a fraction of their combined claims.

By the end of 1891, the ship canal was open to shipping as far as Saltport, the name given to wharves built at the entrance to the Weaver Navigation. The success of the new port was a source of consternation to merchants in Liverpool, who suddenly found themselves cut out of the trade-in goods such as timber, and a source of encouragement to shipping companies, who began to realise the advantages an inland port would offer. Saltport was rendered useless when the ship canal was completely filled with water in November 1893. The Manchester Ship Canal Police were formed the following month, and the canal opened to its first traffic on 1 January 1894. On 21 May, Queen Victoria performed the official opening, the last of three royal visits she made to Manchester. During the ceremony she knighted the Mayor of Salford, William Henry Bailey, and the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Anthony Marshall; Edward Leader Williams was knighted on 2 July by letters patent.

The ship canal took six years to complete at a cost of just over £15 million, equivalent to about £1.65 billion in 2011. It is still the longest river navigation canal and remains the world's eighth-longest ship canal, only slightly shorter than the Panama Canal in Central America. More than 54 million cubic yards (41,000,000 m3) of material were excavated, about half as much as was removed during the building of the Suez Canal. An average of 12,000 workers were employed during construction, peaking at 17,000. Regular navvies were paid 4+1⁄2d per hour for a 10-hour working day, equivalent to about £16 per day in 2010. In terms of machinery, the project made use of more than 200 miles (320 km) of temporary rail track, 180 locomotives, more than 6000 trucks and wagons, 124 steam-powered cranes, 192 other steam engines, and 97 steam excavators. Major engineering landmarks of the scheme included the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the first swing aqueduct in the world, and a neighbouring swing bridge for road traffic at Barton, both of which are now Grade II\* listed structures. In 1909 the canal's depth was increased by 2 feet (0.61 m) to 28 feet (8.5 m), equalling that of the Suez Canal.

### Operational history

The Manchester Ship Canal enabled the newly created Port of Manchester to become Britain's third-busiest port, despite the city being about 40 miles (64 km) inland. Since its opening in 1894, the canal has handled a wide range of ships and cargos, from coastal vessels to intra-European shipping and intercontinental cargo liners. The first vessel to unload its cargo on the opening day was the Pioneer, belonging to the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), which was also the first vessel registered at Manchester; the CWS operated a weekly service to Rouen.

Manchester Liners established regular sailings by large ocean-going vessels. In late 1898 the Manchester City, at 7,698 gross tons, became the largest vessel to reach the terminal docks. Carrying cattle and general cargo, it was met by the Lord Mayor of Manchester and a large welcoming crowd. In 1968 Manchester Liners converted its fleet to container vessels only. To service them it built two dedicated container terminals next to No. 9 Dock. The four container vessels commissioned that year, each of 11,898 gross tons, were the largest ever to make regular use of the terminal docks at Salford. In 1974 the canal handled 2.9 million long tons (3.25 million short tons) of dry cargo, 27 per cent of which was carried by Manchester Liners. The dry tonnage was, and is still, greatly supplemented by crude and refined oil products transported in large tanker ships to and from the Queen Elizabeth II Dock at Eastham and the Stanlow Refinery just east of Ellesmere Port, and also in smaller tankers to Runcorn. The limitations imposed by the canal on the maximum size of container vessel meant that by the mid-1970s Manchester Liners was becoming uncompetitive; the company sold its last ship in 1985. Mersey Ferry operate the river cruise along Manchester Ship Canal.

The amount of freight carried by the canal peaked in 1958 at 18 million long tons (20 million short tons), but the increasing size of ocean-going ships and the port's failure to introduce modern freight-handling methods resulted in that headline figure dropping steadily, and the closure of the docks in Salford in 1984. Total freight movements on the ship canal were down to 7.56 million long tons (8.47 million short tons) by 2000, and further reduced to 6.60 million long tons (7.39 million short tons) for the year ending September 2009.

The maximum length of vessel currently accepted is 530 feet (161.5 m) with a beam of 63.5 feet (19.35 m) and a maximum draft of 24 feet (7.3 m). By contrast the similarly sized Panama Canal, completed a few years after the Manchester Ship Canal, was able to accept ships of up to 950 feet (289.6 m) in length with a beam of 106 feet (32.31 m). Since June 2016, the Panama Canal has been able to handle vessels of 1,201 feet (366 m) in length with a beam of 161 feet (49 m) and a draft of 50 feet (15.2 m), and cargo capacity up to . Ships passing under the Runcorn Bridge have a height restriction of 70 feet (21 m) above normal water levels.

## Present day

In 1984 Salford City Council used a derelict land grant to purchase the docks at Salford from the Ship Canal Company, rebranding the area as Salford Quays. Principal developers Urban Waterside began redevelopment work the following year, by which time traffic on the canal's upper reaches had declined to such an extent that its owners considered closing it above Runcorn. In 1993 the Ship Canal Company was acquired by Peel Holdings; as of 2014 it is owned and operated by Peel Ports, which also owns the Port of Liverpool. The company announced a £50 billion Atlantic Gateway plan in 2011 to develop the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal as a way of combating increasing road congestion. Their scheme involves the construction of a large distribution centre to be named Port Salford and an additional six sites along the canal for the loading and unloading of freight. Peel Ports predict that the number of containers transported along the canal could increase from the 8,000 carried in 2010 to 100,000 by 2030.

## Route

### Geography

From Eastham, the canal runs parallel to, and along the south side of the Mersey estuary, past Ellesmere Port. Between Rixton east of the M6 motorway's Thelwall Viaduct and Irlam, the canal joins the Mersey; thereafter it roughly follows the route the river used to take. At the confluence of the Mersey and Irwell near Irlam, the canal follows the old course of the River Irwell into Manchester.

### Locks, sluices and weirs

Vessels travelling to and from the terminal docks, which are 60 feet (18 m) above sea level, must pass through several locks. Each set has a large lock for ocean-going ships and a smaller, narrower lock for vessels such as tugs and coasters. The entrance locks at Eastham on the Wirral side of the Mersey, which seal off the tidal estuary, are the largest on the canal. The larger lock is 600 feet (180 m) long by 80 feet (24 m) wide; the smaller lock is 350 feet (110 m) by 50 feet (15 m). Four additional sets of locks lie further inland, 600 feet (180 m) long and 65 feet (20 m) wide and 350 feet (110 m) by 45 feet (14 m) for the smaller lock; each has a rise of approximately 15 feet (4.6 m). The locks are at Eastham; Latchford, near Warrington; Irlam; Barton near Eccles and Mode Wheel, Salford.

Five sets of sluices and two weirs are used to control the canal's depth. The sluices, located at Mode Wheel Locks, Barton Locks, Irlam Locks, Latchford Locks and Weaver Sluices, are designed to allow water entering the canal to flow along its length in a controlled manner. Each consists of a set of mechanically driven vertical steel roller gates, supported by masonry piers. Originally, manually operated Stoney Sluices were used; these were replaced in the 1950s by electrically driven units, with automation technology introduced from the late 1980s. The sluices are protected against damage from drifting vessels by large concrete barriers. Stop logs can be inserted by roving cranes, installed upstream of each sluice; at Weaver Sluices, accessed by boat, this task is performed by a floating crane.

Woolston Siphon Weir, built in 1994 to replace an earlier structure and located on an extant section of the Mersey near Latchford, controls the amount of water in the Latchford Pond by emptying canal water into the Mersey. Howley Weir controls water levels downstream of Woolston Weir. Further upstream, Woolston Guard Weir enables maintenance to be carried out on both.

### Docks and wharfs

Seven terminal docks were constructed for the opening of the canal. Four small docks were located on the south side of the canal near Cornbrook, within the Borough of Stretford: Pomona Docks No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4. The three main docks, built primarily for large ocean-going vessels, were in Salford, to the west of Trafford Road on the north bank of the canal, docks No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8. In 1905, No. 9 Dock was completed on the same site. Dock No. 5, known as Ordsall Dock, was part of Pomona Docks, but was dug on the Salford side of the river; it was never completed and was filled in around 1905.

Pomona Docks have also been filled in except for the still intact No. 3 Dock, and are largely derelict. A lock at No. 3 Dock connects it to the nearby Bridgewater Canal at the point where the two canals run in parallel. The western four docks have been converted into the Salford Quays development; ships using the Manchester Ship Canal now dock at various places along the canal side such as Mode Wheel (Salford), Trafford Park, and Ellesmere Port. Most ships have to terminate at Salford Quays, although vessels capable of passing under Trafford Road swing bridge (permanently closed in 1992) can continue up the River Irwell to Hunts Bank, near Manchester Cathedral.

In 1893 the Ship Canal Company sold a parcel of land just east of the Mode Wheel Locks to the newly established Manchester Dry Docks Company. The graving docks were constructed adjacent to the south bank of the canal, and a floating pontoon dock was built nearby. Each of the three graving docks could accommodate ocean-going ships of up to 535 feet (163.1 m) in length and 64 feet (19.5 m) in beam, equivalent to vessels of 8,000 gross tons. Manchester Liners acquired control of the company in 1974, to ensure the availability of facilities for the repair of its fleet of ships.

### Trafford Park

Two years after the opening of the ship canal, financier Ernest Terah Hooley bought the 1,183-acre (4,790,000 m<sup>2</sup>) country estate belonging to Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford for £360,000 (£ in 2009). Hooley intended to develop the site, which was close to Manchester and at the end of the canal, as an exclusive housing estate, screened by woods from industrial units constructed along the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) frontage onto the canal.

With the predicted traffic for the canal slow to materialise, Hooley and Marshall Stevens (the general manager of the Ship Canal Company) came to see the benefits that the industrial development of Trafford Park could offer to both the ship canal and the estate. In January 1897 Stevens became the managing director of Trafford Park Estates, where he remained until 1930, latterly as its joint chairman and managing director.

Within five years Trafford Park, Europe's largest industrial estate, was home to forty firms. The earliest structures on the canal side were grain silos; the grain was used for flour and as ballast for ships carrying raw cotton. The wooden silo built opposite No.9 Dock in 1898 (destroyed in the Manchester Blitz in 1940) was Europe's largest grain elevator. It had a capacity of 40,000 tons and its automatic conveying and spouting system could distribute grain into 226 bins. The CWS bought land on Trafford Wharf in 1903, where it opened a bacon factory and a flour mill. In 1906 it bought the Sun Mill, which it extended in 1913 to create the UK's largest flour mill, with its own wharf, elevators and silos.

Inland from the canal the British Westinghouse Electric Company bought 11 per cent of the estate. Westinghouse's American architect Charles Heathcote was responsible for much of the planning and design of their factory, which built steam turbines and turbo generators. By 1899 Heathcote had also designed fifteen warehouses for the Manchester Ship Canal Company.

### Manchester Ship Canal Railway

During construction, a year after the death of Walker, the directors of the canal company and Walker's trustees came to an agreement for the canal company to take ownership of the construction assets. These included the more than 200 miles (320 km) of temporary rail track, 180 locomotives and more than 6,000 trucks and wagons. These formed the basis of the Manchester Ship Canal Railway, which became the largest private railway in the United Kingdom.

The construction railway followed the route of the former River Irwell. To bring in construction materials, the construction railway had a connection to the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) east of Irlam railway station. Every month this allowed more than 10,000 tons of coal and 8,000 tons of cement to be delivered to sites along the canal excavation. All existing railway companies with lines along the route had been given notice that their lines had to either be abandoned by a given date or raised to give a minimum of 75 feet (23 m) clearance with all deviation construction costs to be paid by the MSC. The CLC Glazebrook to Woodley mainline passed over the River Mersey at Cadishead and so they decided to build a deviation. Construction of the Cadishead Viaduct began in 1892, approached via earth banks, with two brick arches accessing a multi-lattice iron girder centre span of 120 feet (37 m) in length. It opened to freight on 27 February 1893 and to passenger traffic on 29 May 1893. Following the withdrawal of passenger services in 1964, the line became freight only. When expensive repairs to the viaduct were needed in the early 1980s British Rail opted to close it, together with the line to Glazebrook.

At the end of construction, the canal company left in place the original construction railway route, and eventually developed track along 33 miles (53 km) of the canal's length, mainly to its north bank. Built and operated mainly as a single-track line, the busiest section from Weaste Junction through Barton and Irlam, to Partington was all double-tracked. The railway's access to Trafford Park was over the double-tracked Detroit Swing Bridge, which after closure of the MSC Railway in 1988 was floated down the canal to be placed in Salford Quays. The only major deviation was to allow construction of the CWS Irlam soap works and the adjacent Partington Steel & Iron Co. works at Partington (both of which had their own private railways and locomotives), with the MSC Railway's deviation route pushed south to run alongside the canal's north bank and under the Irlam viaduct. The canal company also developed large complexes of sidings along the route, built to service freight to and from the canal's docks and nearby industrial estates, especially at: Salford Docks; Trafford Park; Partington North Coaling Basin (both sides of the canal); Glazebrook sidings; and a small but busy marshalling yard east of Irlam locks. Unlike most other railway companies in the UK it was not nationalised in 1948, and at its peak it had 790 employees, 75 locomotives, 2,700 wagons and more than 230 miles (370 km) of track.

The MSC Railway was able to receive and despatch goods trains to and from all the UK's mainline railway systems, using connecting junctions at three points in the terminal docks. Two were to the north of the canal, operated by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the London and North Western Railway. The third was to the south, operated by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC), whereby the MSC Railway had taken over the old and abandoned route of the CLC, giving them a monopoly on traffic to the new soap works and steel mill.

The MSC Railway's steam locomotives were designed to negotiate the tight curves of the sidings and industrial tracks on which they ran. Originally specifying 0-4-0 wheel arrangements, later 0-6-0 locomotives – purchased to cope with increasing traffic and loads – had flangeless centre axles, whilst the coupling rods had a hinged central section that permitted several inches of lateral play. A long term user of Hudswell Clarke, from their steam through to diesel locomotives, like many industrial railways later motive power was often provided by the purchase of refurbished former "big-four" operated types, with the advantage that crew were readily available to operate them. Post-WWII purchases included several war-surplus Hunslet 'Austerity' 0-6-0 saddle tanks; the last steam locomotive types purchased for the MSC Railway. A fleet of diesel locomotives was bought between 1959 and 1966, including 18 0-4-0 diesels from the Rolls-Royce-owned Sentinel Waggon Works from 1964 to 1966. These enabled the MSC Railways to complete its conversion from steam on 6 July 1966, more than two years before British Railways.

However, as transshipment costs increased, and unprocessed bulk cargoes decreased in volume, the economics of road transport resulted in a gradual dwindling of traffic on the MSC Railway system, and hence contraction in the MSC Railway itself. Traffic reduction was added to by the 1969 closure of the CWS Irlam soap works; post nationalisation British Steel Corporation building their own line to Glazebrook to junction with BR; and severe reductions in traffic of ICI's soda ash trains, British Tar Products and reduced domestic coal consumption. With the remaining engines stationed at Ellesmere Port and Stanlow, maintenance on the line from Irlam through to Partington was halted in late summer 1977, and all through traffic except engineering trains stopped on 21 December 1977. The through-line was officially closed to all traffic in 1978, but many of the sidings complexes remained; the last operational section of the MSC Railway, at Trafford Park, closed on 30 April 2009.

### Other features on the banks

At Ellesmere Port the canal is joined by the Shropshire Union Canal, at a site now occupied by the National Waterways Museum. The area formerly consisted of a 7-acre (2.8 ha) canal port linking the Shropshire Union Canal to the River Mersey. Designed by Thomas Telford, it remained operational until the 1950s. It was a "marvellously self-contained world" with locks, docks, warehouses, a blacksmith's forge, stables, and cottages for the workers. Its Island Warehouse was built in 1871 to store grain. A few miles from Ellesmere Port, at Weston Point, near Runcorn, the ship canal also connects with the Weaver Navigation.

## Crossings

Significant crossings of the Canal include:

- Runcorn Railway Bridge
- Silver Jubilee Bridge
- Mersey Gateway Bridge
- M6 motorway
- Warburton Toll Bridge
- Hulme Bridge Ferry between Irlam and Flixton
- M60 motorway
- Barton Swing Aqueduct and Barton Road Swing Bridge
- Latchford Viaduct which carried the Warrington and Stockport Railway over the canal until 1985. Since then has been closed but the viaduct including the lines remain in situ.

## Ecology

The quality of water in the ship canal is adversely affected by several factors. The high population density of the Mersey Basin has, historically, placed heavy demands on sewage treatment and disposal. Industrial and agricultural discharges into the Irwell, Medlock, and Irk rivers are responsible for industrial contaminants found in the canal. Matters have improved since 1990 when the National Rivers Authority found the area between Trafford Road Bridge and Mode Wheel Locks to be "grossly polluted". The water was depleted of dissolved oxygen, which in the latter half of the 20th century often resulted in toxic sediments normally present at the bottom of the turning basin in what is now Salford Quays rising to the surface during the summer months, giving the impression of solid ground. Previously, only roach and sticklebacks could be found in the canal's upper levels, and then only during the colder parts of the year, but an oxygenation project implemented at Salford Quays from 2001, together with the gradual reduction of industrial pollutants from the Mersey's tributaries, has encouraged the migration into the canal of fish populations from further upstream. The canal's water quality remains low, with mercury and cadmium in particular present at "extremely high levels". Episodic pollution and a lack of habitat remain problems for wildlife, although in 2005, for the first time in living memory, salmon were observed breeding in the River Goyt (a part of the Mersey's catchment). In 2010 the Environment Agency issued a report concluding that the canal "does not pose a significant barrier to salmon movement or impact on migratory behaviours".

Despite the canal's poor water quality there are several nature reserves along its banks. Wigg Island, a former brownfield site east of Runcorn, contains a network of public footpaths through newly planted woodlands and meadows. Wildlife includes multiple butterfly and dragonfly species, kestrels, swallows and house martins. Further upstream the 200-acre (81 ha) Moore Nature Reserve, which is bisected by the de-watered Runcorn to Latchford Canal, comprises lakes, woodland and meadows. The reserve is open to the public and contains a number of bird hides, from which native owls and woodpeckers may be viewed. Near Thelwall, Woolston Eyes (a corruption of the Saxon Ees), is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is used as a deposit for canal dredgings and is a habitat for many species of bird, including black-necked grebes, grasshopper warblers, blackcaps and common whitethroats. Great crested newts and adders are present, and local flora includes orchids and broad-leaved helleborines. Diving ducks are regular visitors to Salford Quays, where species such as pochard and tufted ducks feed on winter nights.

## See also

- Canals of the United Kingdom
- History of the British canal system
- Waterways in the United Kingdom

UK canal linking Manchester to the coast