A landmark city centre building that was once home to George Best's nightclub Oscars has been transformed into stylish apartments that are now available to rent. Waldorf House on Cooper Street was originally built as the city's masonic hall back in 1863.
But in later years it was to become a hotel and then in the 1970s the nightclub Oscars co-owned by United legend Best. It went on in more recent years to become The Tiger Lounge club, which closed in 2017.
Now it has been developed as apartments - which have finally been unveiled after a spectacular multi-million pound refurbishment. We had a peak around the city centre development ahead of residents moving in in the coming weeks.
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Due to the Grade II listing of the building, architects had to create painstaking new designs to allow the division of 14 apartments inside. In the most dramatic room - the old masonic hall at the top of the building - new "floating" staircases have been created so as not to touch the intricate coving on the ceilings and walls.
The properties are being marketed by Manchester estate agent Julie Twist who says it's one of the most unique propositions she's ever brought to market.
She said: "We always go for the more boutique properties, ones that have a bit more interest inside and with Waldorf House you most certainly have that. It's such an interesting building and the architects have had to create a really unique design because of the Grade II listing inside so that nothing touches the walls or decor of the old masonic hall.
"It had been empty for years with no one able to see inside it, so it's quite special to now have it opened up in this way for people to live here."
The 14 apartments are now available to rent from £1,500 for one-bed apartments up to £4,000 for the three-bed duplex Masonic Hall apartments. Many of the apartments have already been snapped up for rent, offering as they do a unique slice of Manchester's history.
The building was first opened as the freemasons hall in Manchester back in 1863, and in 1864 the cellars were opened up as a restaurant. By 1929 the masons had moved to bigger premises in the city, the imposing Freemasons Hall on Bridge Street, while the building on Cooper Street was converted into a hotel.
As developments sprang up over the years, the hall's original use as a masonic hall was somewhat masked - as the large hall windows were at the rear of the building. They can be clearly seen in archive photos looking from Princess Street down West Mosley Street.
Those windows now form a stunning part of the two duplex apartments at the top of the building. Architects Atelier MB carefully worked inside the hall structure to renovate all the period detail, while making the spaces work for modern living.
The result is the large hall space divided into two, while keeping the extraordinary roof details and all the light from the windows pouring into the new "floating" upper floor where the kitchen and living space is set out.
In 1975 a number of floors in the historic building were taken over to become Oscar's Bar, the nightclub co-owned by Manchester United legend George Best. George had already launched the Slack Alice club with his pal Malcolm Wagner on Bootle Street when they took on Oscars too.
The main Oscars restaurant was on the ground floor, while the basement club was Buzz Fizz, and upstairs the banqueting suite was called Dorian Gray.
In later years it became a football-themed bar, and then in 2004 was to become the Tiger Lounge nightclub which was known for its "kooky and kitsch" interior and which played host to revellers until closure in 2017.
Now those basement nightspots have been transformed into unique apartments inside the building. One even has its own entrance - through the original club door - where you can walk down into the living accommodation.
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