Viaduct Street is located at the eastern end of Coronation Street and Mawdesley Street and previously Victoria Street , until that route was closed off as far as Rosamund Street to enable the redevelopment of the Baldwin's factory and community centre. It is named after the small viaduct that runs parallel to it, which carries the former London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) line, now part of the Metrolink tram system that links Weatherfield to central Manchester.
One of the first buildings on Viaduct Street was a workhouse which was located at what was the corner with Victoria Street. This was demolished at the turn of the twentieth century when a new cotton mill, Hardcastle's Mill was constructed together with a number of terraced streets including Coronation Street which were built to house many of the workers at the mill and their families. A hotel once stood next to the workhouse but it later became redundant and the owner burnt it down after going into debt, killing five people; he was sent to prison for thirty years.
Until 1968, Viaduct Street between Victoria Street and Coronation Street was flanked by the Glad Tidings Mission Hall , which was redeveloped by the Council to provide a row of modern maisonettes. Following a construction flaw, the maisonettes were demolished and a community centre occupied the site of the mission until it was itself demolished in 1989 by Maurice Jones to make way for a new mixed use development of residential, retail and industrial units.
This street also had the Viaduct Street Social Club, a popular hangout for the locals.
In 1967 a train came crashing off the viaduct and onto Coronation Street. After the repairs cars were free to roam between Coronation Street and Jubilee Terrace located on the east side of the viaduct until 1986 when gates were erected between their connecting underpass by Weatherfield Council. The Council's rationale was to "contain the traffic flow in residential areas".
The archway that originally connected Coronation Street with Jubilee Terrace was later converted into an industiral unit, Turner's Joinery and a large glass window was placed in here sometime in the 1990s.
In 1997 Don Brennan died after he drove his car into the joinery in attempted to kill Mike Baldwin and was burnt to death.
Seven years later, in 2004, Maya Sharma was badly injured in this street whilst trying to kill Dev and Sunita Alahan. She too tried to run them down but missed and crashed into the joinery again. Although she survived the crash, she was seen to rev up her engine for one more try before a heavy goods vehcile heading along Viaduct Street colided with Maya's car and ended the drama. The window was replaced by a double glazed panel.
By 2010, Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby were granted planning permission to convert the former joinery, which had become a kitchen for the homeless into a wine bar and restaurant. Nick decided to call it 'The Joinery' owing to its past use.
Opposite the joinery on the northern side of Coronation Street is D & S Alahan, a mini market who's entrance was until the early 1960s on the corner of the two streets, until the then proprietor Florrie Lindley moved the entrance away from the corner and onto Coronation Street owing to exessive draughts. The flat above the shop is still accessible from an entrance in Viaduct Street.