Le Mans Crescent, Tourist attraction in Bolton, Great Britain
Le Mans Crescent is a curved road in Bolton, running behind the town hall between Deansgate and Ashburner Street, lined with a continuous row of brick buildings. On the right side sit the library, museum, and art gallery, while an arched walkway in the middle of the curve leads through Cheadle Square toward Victoria Square.
In 1923, the local council decided to expand Bolton's town hall and build a new civic centre on the site of run-down properties known as Spring Gardens and Howell Croft. The curved building was designed by Bolton architects Bradshaw, Gass & Hope, and the museum planned for the 1930s only opened in 1947 after delays caused by the Second World War.
The name of the crescent comes from Le Mans, Bolton's twin town in France, and this connection has been part of the area's identity since 1974. Every August, the road hosts a Victorian Fair with stalls and shop fronts decorated in an old style, drawing families and visitors from across the town.
The curved road is easy to walk along and to reach on foot, with the arched walkway in the middle providing a direct link to Victoria Square and the rear of the town hall. The library, museum, and art gallery on the right side are open to the public and accessible most days of the week.
When the old Chadwick Museum building was demolished, some objects were left behind in the basement, including a stuffed rhinoceros and a Maori feather cloak. The thought has been raised that future archaeologists digging in the area might one day uncover these items and puzzle over their origins.
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