The first corn exchange in Leeds was located at the north end of Briggate and was opened in 1829. By the mid-19th century, it was considered too small, and civic officials decided to commission a larger building. It was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, a Hull architect best known for Leeds Town Hall, in the Italianate style, built in stone with diamond-shaped rustification and was completed in 1863. The use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century. It enjoyed somewhat of a new lease of life in the 1980s when it was restored it and converted it into a retail space. These photos, from the YEP archive, from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s tell the story of its remarkable transformation. READ MORE: Unseen photos chart of a golden age of Leeds pub culture LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia
2. 1980s
February 1985 and the Corn Exchange was in line for a long overdue new lease of life. This headline shows how the Corn Exchange might have looked... an artist's impression of a £500,000 concert hall scheme, rejected in 1976. | YPN Photo: YPN
3. 1980s
We kick off in the summer of 1989 when work began on the Corn Exchange conversion scheme to accomodate 30 to 40 units including shops, restaurants, bars and a heritage museum. | YPN Photo: YPN
4. 1980s
Inside the Corn Exchange in November 1989 during the renovation which involved preserving the past with modern building technology. The multi million pound refurbishment was led by Speciality Shops. | YPN Photo: YPN
5. 1990s
The newly-reopened and refurbished Corn Exchange in June 1990 featured Cafe Society, a 1930s style cafe bar where the emphasis was on food, drink and live entertainment. | YPN Photo: YPN
6. 1990s
Cafe Society was based in in the heart of the piazza. Do you visit back in the day? Pictured in November 1990. | YPN Photo: YPN