Top Picks
Guides
What’s on
Where to go
See all

Modernist Society

Creative Tourist

Visit now

Modernist Society

58 Port Street, Manchester, M1 2EQ
0161 235 8469
Website Facebook X
  • Tuesday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Wednesday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Thursday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Friday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday11:00am - 5:00pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Visit now
The Modernist shop
The Modernist
Book now

The Modernist Society is a creative project dedicated to celebrating and engaging with 20th-century architecture and design, through publishing, events, exhibitions and creative collaborations. Their bricks and mortar shop opened in May 2019 in the Northern Quarter and is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design. With a focus on modernist architecture, graphics, typography, transport, furniture and product design, if you can’t make it in real life, you can always shop online. Alongside the books there’s also a specially selected range of modernist products from cushions to mugs and from chocolate to shiny spoons. It’s also #modernistHQ with the office upstairs, where the magazine is put together, plus there’s a library and a gallery and event space where regular exhibitions are held.

Featured in

UNITOM bookshop
Bookshops in Manchester

Manchester is a UNESCO City of Literature, so of course there are a few go-tos for books. Read our guide to discover the best places to pick them up.

What's on near Modernist Society

The Orchestra (For Now)
MusicManchester
The Orchestra (For Now) at YES

London’s The Orchestra (For Now) channel the chaos and thrill of early BCNR – darker, weirder, and completely gripping live.

From £15.07
Freaky Friday at HOME
–
FamiliesManchester
Freaky Friday at HOME

HOME’s Christmas show Freaky Friday makes its UK stage premiere. A funny, heartfelt Disney musical offering a body-swappingly brilliant alternative to panto.

From £27.70
Wisp Press Image
MusicManchester
Wisp at The Deaf Institute

Shoegaze’s unlikely resurgence has catapulted 20-year-old Wisp from iPhone demos to Coachella. In support of her debut album, she headlines The Deaf Institute.

From £19.25
See all events

Where to go near Modernist Society

Manchester
Restaurant
Zouk

Manchester has more than one top-tier Indian restaurant, but Zouk is right up there with the best, and counts Drake as a fan.

Bakchich
Manchester
Restaurant
Bakchich Manchester

Bakchich does excellent, reasonably priced Lebanese food – including sharwarma, pickles, meshawi grills and baklawa – in a beautifully tiled, high-ceilinged space.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Thirsty Scholar

Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.

Manchester
Theatre
The Dancehouse

From its charming Art Deco interiors to a quirky, highly original creative arts output, our theatre is firmly established within the city’s famously vibrant cultural scene.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Manchester
Restaurant
Ol Brewery Bar

A nano brewery and keg bar, Ol is a meeting of minds between Takk and Byrne The Cake brewery.

Manchester
Restaurant
Mama Z

Top class Filipino cuisine currently based at pop-up central, Hatch.

See all places

Manchester District Guides

The front of Didsbury restaurant Volta.
Didsbury, Manchester

Didsbury has the perfect split between big brands and independent businesses, welcoming all from far and wide.
Ancoats, Manchester
Ancoats & New Islington

Ancoats, just off the Northern Quarter in Manchester, is one of the city’s most increasingly desirable neighbourhoods. Find out why.
People enjoying drinking in Altrincham
Things to Do in Altrincham

Plan a day out down Altrincham way, and you’ll soon find that one day isn’t nearly enough. Getting there is easy on the tram, or how about cycling along the…
Salford museum and art gallery exterior
Salford, Greater Manchester

Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.
chinatown, manchester in sun by ben williams
Chinatown, Manchester

Chinatown is a network of back streets dotted with Chinese restaurants – go to Ho’s Bakery for perfect honey buns, Hunan for spice and Middle Kingdom for a very affordable menu.
The Quays, Greater Manchester

The Quays is home to MediaCityUK (the largest media hub in Europe) and studios purpose-built for the BBC’s move up North in 2011.
Chorlton, Manchester

Chorlton is a left-leaning suburb a few miles south of Manchester’s city centre (and only 10-odd minutes away by tram). A sprawling hive of artisan coffee shops, boutique clothing stores,…

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.

Music in the North

Noise, excess and immediacy. From New York’s experimental underground to the most vital sounds of local scenes, autumn gigs are coming in heavy.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...