The Moon Under Water, Pub in Deansgate, Manchester, England
The Moon Under Water is a pub on Deansgate in Manchester, spread across three floors inside a former early-20th-century cinema building. The space is large and open, with gallery areas on the upper levels and a main hall that once served as the cinema auditorium.
The building opened in 1914 as a cinema called the Deansgate Picture House and operated as such for several decades. It was converted into a Wetherspoon pub in 1995.
The name comes from a 1946 essay by George Orwell, in which he described his idea of a perfect English pub. Visitors who know the essay often find it amusing to compare Orwell's fictional pub with what they see around them.
The pub opens early in the morning, so it works well for breakfast or a coffee before heading out. Orders can be placed through a mobile app, which means you do not have to queue at the bar.
The ceiling of the former cinema hall still has its original star-shaped lights from the building's early days as a picture house. Looking up from your seat, it is easy to imagine the space as it once was, filled with rows of cinema chairs instead of pub tables.
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