The building was designed by architects
Peter Cummings, Alex Irvine, and R. Gillespie Williams, in an
Art Deco style. The building's frontage consists of a glazed white terracotta
façade. Its original purpose was as a multi-purpose cinema and variety hall and was opened on 29 August 1938 by actress
Margaret Lockwood. It was taken over by
Associated British Cinemas in 1943, but it began to host pop concerts in the 1960s. They performed here again on 7 December 1965.
The Rolling Stones performed at the ABC Ardwick with
Ike & Tina Turner,
The Yardbirds, and
Peter Jay & the New Jaywalkers on 28 September 1966. In the 1970s, it stopped presenting films and became solely a concert venue. It also hosts seated events to a capacity of 2,693. Split into two levels, the upstairs contains permanently fitted seating, whereas the larger downstairs can be altered to suit the event; both levels view a single concert stage. The venue has no air-conditioning except in the "Whiteroom" hospitality area. It was the biggest venue in Manchester before the
GMEX in 1986, and then the 23,000 capacity (formerly 21,000 capacity) NYNEX Arena, now
AO Arena, opened in 1995. ==See also==