North John Street

North John Street is defined by the heavy, ornate presence of the Royal Insurance Building at its junction with Dale Street. Constructed between eighteen ninety-six and nineteen oh three, this Grade Two-star listed structure is built in a dense Neo-Baroque style featuring a domed tower and grand turrets. It stands out for being one of the first buildings in the United Kingdom to utilize a steel frame, an engineering innovation that allowed it to rise with a scale typical of the imposing office blocks that defined the city’s commercial identity at the turn of the twentieth century.