The development of Smithfield Market and the continued growth of the cotton industry helped to foster economic activity in the Northern Quarter into the 20th century.
Middleton describes an area buzzing with hawkers and processions.

Youth culture was the next development in the area that might be recognised today.
A street dancing culture emerged in the early part of the 20th century, with "dozens of young people performing polkas, waltzes and schottisches to music provided by Italian organ-grinders".

The cotton trade reached its peak in 1912, when 8 billion square yards (6,700 km²) of fabric were manufactured and sold from Manchester.
Following the First World War, the high cost of British cotton, and the increase in production elsewhere in the world, led to a slow decline of the British cotton industry.
In the 1960s and 1970s, mills were closing in Manchester and the rest of Lancashire at a rate of almost one a week, and by the 1980s only specialised textile production remained, although clothing manufacture and the wholesale trade continue to form a strong part of Manchester's economy.
The development of Smithfield Market and the continued growth of the cotton industry helped to foster economic activity in the Northern Quarter into the 20th century. Middleton describes an area buzzing with hawkers and processions.
Youth culture was the next development in the area that might be recognised today. A street dancing culture emerged in the early part of the 20th century, with "dozens of young people performing polkas, waltzes and schottisches to music provided by Italian organ-grinders".
The cotton trade reached its peak in 1912, when 8 billion square yards (6,700 km²) of fabric were manufactured and sold from Manchester. Following the First World War, the high cost of British cotton, and the increase in production elsewhere in the world, led to a slow decline of the British cotton industry. In the 1960s and 1970s, mills were closing in Manchester and the rest of Lancashire at a rate of almost one a week, and by the 1980s only specialised textile production remained, although clothing manufacture and the wholesale trade continue to form a strong part of Manchester's economy.
Northern Quarter (Manchester)