37 nostalgic photos capture lost Leeds, showing demolished buildings over half a century

Leeds is a city that never stands still, and these fascinating pictures reveal how dramatically its streets have been transformed over more than half a century.

They show just some of the buildings, including several well-known landmarks, to have been demolished over the years.

Those buildings are either pictured between 1950 and 1999 or were demolished between these dates. Most are shown still standing, but others are seen already being reduced to rubble.

Some have only recently been consigned to history, while others are already a distant memory.

The lost landmarks featured in this retro photo gallery include the Imperial Hotel, which stood on Briggate for 80 years before closing its doors for good in March 1961 and being demolished.

Pictured too is Leeds Central Station, which served passengers for more than a century, between 1854 and 1967, before being razed, with a Royal Mail sorting office built in its place.

Many people will also remember the architecturally striking Leeds International Pool at Westgate, which opened in 1967 and lasted four decades before closing in 2007 and being flattened two years later.

The hulking Quarry Hill Flats also dominated Leeds’ skyline for many years. Built in the 1930s and housing 3,000 people, it was said to be the largest and most modern social housing complex in Europe at the time. The flats were demolished in 1978, with Leeds Playhouse being built on the site.

A more recent casualty of time’s shifting sands was Tetley’s brewery on Hunslet Road, pictured here in the 60s, with two of its famous shire horses ready to pull a beer-laden dray. The brewery closed in 2011, and most of the site was demolished the following year, but the iconic art deco Tetley building survived and was transformed into an art gallery.

A 60s secondary school, a famous shopping arcade, an old fire station, and two pubs demolished to make way for the Inner Ring Road are just some of the other lost buildings featured in this trip down memory lane.

But perhaps the most striking image shows the last resident of a cobbled street standing alone amid the deserted row of houses shortly before they were demolished in the name of progress.

Do these photos bring back any memories for you, and which of Leeds’ many lost buildings do you miss most?