Iconic Manchester building nearly became a Wetherspoons but ended up a pile of bricks

For some historic buildings, it's seen as a last chance saloon to be repurposed to ensure that they will survive for future generations.

Love it or hate it, over recent years one of the ways iconic buildings that have otherwise fallen by the wayside have been given a new lease of life is by being transformed into Wetherspoon pubs. And, while Wetherspoons is known for its cheap drinks and food, lively atmosphere and lairy carpets – the chain also has some unique venues too.

In Manchester alone, JD Wetherspoon-owned repurposed venues include a former cinema in The Paramount on Oxford Street, to an old billiard hall in The Sedge Lynn in Chorlton. But one iconic Manchester building, that at one time looked destined to be part of the Wetherspoon pub chain, sadly ended up a pile of bricks.

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Entertaining people living in south Manchester for more than 90 years, Cine City in Withington was one of the city's great cinema buildings. Once considered one of the most iconic buildings in Manchester, it was home to only the third cinema to open in Britain.

The cinema, formally known as The Scala, opened its doors in 1912 during the silent cinema era, before the advent of the "talkies" in the late 1920s. When the popularity of 'picture houses' boomed in the 1930s, it was one of 109 cinemas in Manchester at its peak.

Actor Robert Donat, star of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, The 39 Steps, wrote in his autobiography that he got his first taste for acting when he used to visit The Scala as a child. And famous Manchester novelist Howard Spring is