The Merrion Centre was a first for Leeds - the city's first shopping and leisure centre. It cost £6 million to build and was the property of Town Centre Securities Ltd. It was opened in May 1964 by Marjorie Ziff, wife of the chairman Arnold Ziff. She opened a case with a golden key, containing a cake modelled on the shopping centre. The completed first stage included a cinema, ballroom, bowling alley and shops. These photos chart the rise of the Merrion Centre, its opening and beyond to the end of the 1960s. The images are a mix from the YEP archive, West Yorkshire Archive Service and others published courtesy of photographic archive Leodis, which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service. READ MORE: Watch - Secrets of Leeds Queens Hotel revealed including hidden tunnel LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia
7. Merrion Centre
The Odeon Cinema inside the newly built Merrion Centre on balcony level circa 1965. The image was taken before the phase which created Morrison Supermarket and Merrion House. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
8. Merrion Centre
A preview of some of the Christmas illuminations at the Merrion Centre in 1965. | YPN Photo: YPN
9. Merrion Centre
The Merrion Centre pictured during the final stages of its construction. This photo looks from Woodhouse Lane. On the left edge, part of the Odeon Cinema can be seen. A billboard in the foreground states 'Merrion Centre Stage V, ... Office Development, To Be Let'. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
10. Merrion Centre
Merrion Way showing the entrance and exit to the new multi-storey car park, part of the Merrion Centre scheme. The covered multi-storey car park was, at the time, the biggest in Britain with four floors and spaces for 1,100 cars. | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
11. Merrion Centre
This photo from circa 1965 shows site excavations for the new building as part of the Merrion Centre development. The excavation is the site of the Podium Building housing Wetherspoon Free House and the Grosvenor Casino in Merrion Way, and Tower House is off camera to the right. In the 1970s the building on this site was the venue for the night club 'Cinderella, Rockafella's'. Wade Passage leads off into the top left-hand corner | Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net
12. Merrion Centre
The cleaning windows at the multi-storey office block in February 1966. | YPN Photo: YPN