The year 2010. The address, 24 Lever Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. A new era for an old building is about to begin. Elizabethan in style, Bohemian in location, and very much Mancunian in character, it was thrust into the world during the industrial revolution, has survived great adversity, and is now ready and waiting for an intrepid future. Pet shops, imported ales, squalor, youth culture, customised bikes, cotton, a Banksy, political speeches, white label vinyl, Marxist damnation, colourful murals, penny novels, vintage jeans, market stalls, processions, street-dancing, three curries for a fiver, handmade jewellery, mojitos and bacon butties. The area’s seen a lot, but if you know today’s Northern Quarter, you’ll know why people want to be here. It’s an area that thrives on independence, ideas and inspiration, and lives all day long and throughout the night. Welcome to our corner of Manchester