a change in the type of lectures, which became less rigidly based on scientific topics, as also did the library stock, and events such as concerts, exhibitions and excursions played a more important role. Facilities for educating women and children were also introduced but, for example, a request to begin classes in history was rejected because of fears that it would lead to debates about politics. This institute organised the first City exhibition in 1837 and this led to a large number of similar exhibitions in English industrial towns and cities. By the 1840s, the exhibitions included thousands of casts, busts and masks relating to the fashionable subject of phrenology and were attracting over 100,000 visitors. The Manchester Phrenological Society used its facilities. Relocation The institute moved to the current building in 1855. The building was designed by J. E. Gregan in an Italian palazzo style and was Gregan's last work. It consists of three tall storeys with a basement and blind attic storey and is constructed of brick with stone dressings. "It set a standard for the scale of the commercial warehouses which were to follow, but the nobility and purity of the design sets it apart from its neighbours." The inaugural meeting of the Trades Union Congress was held in the building, 2–6 June 1868. In 1882 it was decided to establish a technical school, the Technical School and Mechanics' Institution; it opened in September 1882. This was the beginning of the institution later known as UMIST. Present day As of 2002 the building contained archives from the National Labour History Museum, which were subsequently relocated with that museum. Alumni Mary Louisa Armitt who founded the Armitt Library was educated here. See also Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester Listed buildings in Manchester-M1 References Sources Pevsner, Nicholas; Hartwell, Clare & Hyde, Matthew, The Buildings of England: Lancashire — Manchester and the South East (2004) Yale University Press External links Manchester Mechanics' Institution archive, University of Manchester Library. Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester Trades Union Congress University of Manchester