Actor Peter O'Toole was at West Yorkshire Playhouse presenting a lecture to promote his latest book, 'Loitering with Intent, The Apprentice'.placeholder image
Actor Peter O'Toole was at West Yorkshire Playhouse presenting a lecture to promote his latest book, 'Loitering with Intent, The Apprentice'. | Peter Thacker

16 photos to take you back to Leeds in 1996

By Andrew Hutchinson
Published 11th Apr 2022, 04:45 GMT

It was the year for a fond farewell and a warm welcome when it came to shopping in Leeds.

1996 saw Schofields close its doors in the city centre while the Harvey Nichols store opened to enhance Leeds's growing reputation as the 'Knightsbridge of the North'. It was a 12 months which also featured the opening of new Village Hotel and Leisure Club at Headingley and the demolition of Kirkstall Fire Station. These photos, a mix from the YEP archive and others published courtesy of photographic archive Leodis, which is run by which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service, showcase a year in the life of your city. READ MORE: 28 Leeds city centre shops you visited in the 1990s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook

Window dressing at Harvey Nichols on Briggate. The backdrop is a London scene with St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey depicted.

7. Leeds city centre

Window dressing at Harvey Nichols on Briggate. The backdrop is a London scene with St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey depicted. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

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Bramley Library on Hough Lane, which opened in 1927. Terraced housing on St. Peter's Mount can be seen on the left.

8. Bramley

Bramley Library on Hough Lane, which opened in 1927. Terraced housing on St. Peter's Mount can be seen on the left. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

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An aerial view showing the River Aire running from centre left to bottom right in October 1996. Clarence Dock and the recently opened Royal Armouries Museum can be seen in the centre.

9. Leeds city centre

An aerial view showing the River Aire running from centre left to bottom right in October 1996. Clarence Dock and the recently opened Royal Armouries Museum can be seen in the centre. | Jefferson Air Photography Photo: Jefferson Air Photography

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Yeadon Branch Library on Town Hall Square. The building had previously been a grocery branch of the Leeds Industrial Co-operative Society.

10. Leeds in 1996

Yeadon Branch Library on Town Hall Square. The building had previously been a grocery branch of the Leeds Industrial Co-operative Society. Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

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The windows of Schofield's department store in The Headrow showcasing summer fashions in swimwear. Schofield's closed in 1996 and the site was redeveloped as The Headrow Centre.

11. Leeds city centre

The windows of Schofield's department store in The Headrow showcasing summer fashions in swimwear. Schofield's closed in 1996 and the site was redeveloped as The Headrow Centre. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

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Boroughgate showing the former Otley Library premises in the centre. This library has since been transferred to a new building on Nelson Street, which opened in 2006

12. Otley

Boroughgate showing the former Otley Library premises in the centre. This library has since been transferred to a new building on Nelson Street, which opened in 2006 | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net

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