34, Princess Street

No. 34 Princess Street is a building in Manchester that was originally constructed as shipping and packing warehouses around 1870-1880 and has since been altered for use as shops and offices. The structure is likely iron-framed and features cladding of red brick with sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan situated at the end of a block, with chamfered corners and an eclectic architectural style that includes Gothic elements.

The building rises five storeys above a basement and consists of five bays plus the corners, arranged symmetrically. It has a punch-dressed plinth and an ashlar ground floor with a cornice and bands between the floors. The second and fourth bays are framed by semi-octagonal brick pilasters that end in stone pinnacles, leading to steeply-pitched gables. Tall clustered chimneys rise from the inner corners of these gables, and the roof is also steeply pitched.

The ground floor features chamfered piers and a two-centred arched doorway with deeply moulded details and a carved crocketed gablet. The basement windows are now painted white, while the ground floor has square windows. The upper floors are fitted with sashed windows that lack glazing bars, all surrounded by stone. The windows in the three central bays are coupled, and those on the third floor are two-centred arched. The gables have blank arches with multifoil decoration. The left return side facing Faulkner Street is similar in style, while the right-hand return is simpler. This building is part of an uninterrupted linear group of similar structures along this side of Princess Street.