18 lost Leeds institutions that locals remember fondly - including the Mecca and Maxi's

They are the city institutions which will be forever remembered by a generation of Leeds folk.

By Andrew Hutchinson

Published 27th Jun 2023, 11:30 GMT

Shops, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs are all featured in this trip down memory celebrating the places which will forever hold a special place in the memory for people who called Leeds home down the years. How many do you remember? READ MORE: 33 closed Leeds pubs which will stir fond memories for drinkers LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook

Located in the County Arcade the Mecca Locarno Ballroom is nothing short of a city institution. It opened in November 1938 and closed in 1969 by which time new venue had been opened in the Merrion Centre. This picture was taken sometime in the 1960s.

1. Mecca

Located in the County Arcade the Mecca Locarno Ballroom is nothing short of a city institution. It opened in November 1938 and closed in 1969 by which time new venue had been opened in the Merrion Centre. This picture was taken sometime in the 1960s. Photo: YPN

Do you remember dining at Youngmans in Leeds city centre? It was the fish and chip restaurant which boasted more than 100 years of frying history stretching back to 1885. The doors closed for the last time after tea on February 1989 at its home on Queen Victoria Street, off Briggate.

2. Youngmans

Do you remember dining at Youngmans in Leeds city centre? It was the fish and chip restaurant which boasted more than 100 years of frying history stretching back to 1885. The doors closed for the last time after tea on February 1989 at its home on Queen Victoria Street, off Briggate. Photo: YPN

It was department store which stood proud among the city's shopping elite. Schofields was held in high esteem by those looking to indulge in a dose of retail therapy. It opened at Victoria Arcade in 1901 in a single shop unit as a "fancy drapers and milliners" with a staff of two before expanding. The Headrow store was rebuilt in 1952 and welcomed generations of shoppers before the end of an era in August 1987.

3. Schofields

It was department store which stood proud among the city's shopping elite. Schofields was held in high esteem by those looking to indulge in a dose of retail therapy. It opened at Victoria Arcade in 1901 in a single shop unit as a "fancy drapers and milliners" with a staff of two before expanding. The Headrow store was rebuilt in 1952 and welcomed generations of shoppers before the end of an era in August 1987. Photo: YPN

Leeds coach operator Wallace Arnold transported holidaymakers around the UK the continent and beyond. The firm in its heyday employed close on 1,000 staff and operated more than 200 coaches each day.

4. Wallace Arnold

Leeds coach operator Wallace Arnold transported holidaymakers around the UK the continent and beyond. The firm in its heyday employed close on 1,000 staff and operated more than 200 coaches each day. Photo: YPN

Lewis's was the place to go for generations of aspirational shoppers and bargain-hunters all keen for their fix of retail therapy. It opened on the newly-widened Headrow in September 1932 and served the city for more than 60 years before becoming an Allders in the mid-1990s.

5. Lewis's

Lewis's was the place to go for generations of aspirational shoppers and bargain-hunters all keen for their fix of retail therapy. It opened on the newly-widened Headrow in September 1932 and served the city for more than 60 years before becoming an Allders in the mid-1990s. Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

It was the giant venue that led way for city nightlife. Opened in 1993 with hundreds of thousands of revellers passing through its doors during its 13 years in Leeds.

6. Majestyk

It was the giant venue that led way for city nightlife. Opened in 1993 with hundreds of thousands of revellers passing through its doors during its 13 years in Leeds. Photo: YPN