The Hacienda Manchester, Club Building, Fac 51 England, Music, Tony Wilson, Architect

The Hacienda Manchester : Fac 51 Building

Manchester Nightclub, northwest England design by Ben Kelly architect, UK

The Hacienda

Location: Whitworth Street
Date: 1982
Design: Ben Kelly Architects

Now closed, as Fac 51 once home to Factory Records’ famous club

This Manchester club was the joint in the late eighties but fizzled out in the early nineties damaged by a reputation for violence. The Hac was a very cool place (though I preferred the PSV club in Hulme and the Ritz nightclub further along Whitworth Street) back in the Madchester days from ’89 to ’92 with clubbers travelling from not only England but Europe too.

The Manchester Hacienda looked like any other brick Victorian block on the outside but internally the building had a style which could be linked back to pop art and also to street furniture. The architect – Ben Kelly – also designed the ‘iconic’ Dry 201 bar on Oldham Street, which was a popular hang-out for Mancunian music stars.

The Hac featured in a 2006 film about the late Tony Wilson (Factory Records boss) and the Madchester days. Anthony Wilson died in Aug 2007.

The Hacienda design : Ben Kelly Architects

Famous bands to play at The Hac included New Order and one of the most critically acclaimed bands in the world, The Stone Roses. The latter band featured on an edition of SnubTV around 1988 which had a strong effect on many young people in the UK at the time, their performance at The Hac was mesmerising.

The Haçienda – redevelopment for housing
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Design: Stephenson Bell Architects
Flats Project converting floors above the Hacienda club for Crosby Homes

The Haçienda apartments, Whitworth St, photographs © Isabelle Lomholt, 28 Oct 2011