Manchester Unity Building

The Manchester Unity Building features a stepped, gothic-inspired tower clad in terracotta tiles, rising distinctly above the corner of Swanston and Collins streets. Completed in nineteen thirty-two during the depths of the Great Depression, the building served as a headquarters for a prominent friendly society. Its construction provided work for hundreds of tradespeople when jobs were scarce across the city. Marcus Barlow designed the structure, incorporating a private elevator and a rooftop garden for the benefit of the society members.