Merrion Centre

[chameleon]

gledhowvalleysally wrote: have seen some pics of the inside of the cinma somewhere on the net, will try and dig them out The BBC site featured the old Odean, was talked about on here earlier in the year. Have alook here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/imag ... lery.shtml

[Brandy]

gledhowvalleysally wrote: have seen some pics of the inside of the cinma somewhere on the net, will try and dig them out excellent screen name there gledhowvalleysally im lovin it

[electricaldave]

I used to go to Central High School in the early 1970's and the bus that took me there was the 36 from Tinshill, that was quite a run for a small person, which I was even for my age, I doubt that kids travel anything like as far to a city school these days on public transport, it'll all be in chauffeur driven now.The 36 bus, and the 33 from Cookridge, and the 30 from Ireland Wood first used to go down past the university right down Woodhouse lane and past the TGWU building and down past the Poly, then the route was changed to hang a left on Blackman Lane and right over the new motorway.Finally the route was changed to go down Blenheim Walk and past the school, which looked very much to me a dump, it had a poor reputation, and the houses opposite looked mostly derelict, it was some years before they were done up into student accomodation.The bus would go over the motorway, stop just outside the Coburg, go up Claypit Lane for maybe a hundred yards, turn right and go into what is now the walkway, and stop again right outside the Merrion Centre Odeon, and WoolworthsThe trick was to stand on the bus platform and wait until it swung down toward Woodhouse Lane, where it had to turn left to get onto that street, and in doing so it had to slow down, and you could readily step off the platform, but there was always something of a rush of other folk doing exaclty the same.There was a big double front postbox just around that corner, and it wans't unknow for folk to be careless about their timing when jumping off the bus platform, and meeting this postbox with a bit of a thump.That postbox was just outside Centresports, which was the only shop in Yorkshire I knew of that sold ski equipment - which always struck me as being a bit odd.I can't remember what was there before Morrisons, though while waiting for the bus to go home each evening I watched it being built - the bus stop was just outside Kitson College.They dug a huge hole first and then put in the concrete withits reinforcing rod pillars.As the whole thing rose up, we wondered when they would ever stop, back then this was a very tall building for Leeds.When they put those horrible brown metal panels on the side of Morrisons, we all thought it was just some prefab part that would be covered over with something more eye pleasing, such as brick, or a mural faced concrete wall, we never thought they would leave those panels exposed and it always looked a bit unfinished to me.I'm sure I remember that the main route past the shops in the Merrion centre was not roofed - they put some sort of marble flooring down and it was lethally slippery in the wet, especially on the slope past Stylo shoes at the lower ramp dwon to Merrion Street, in fact going into Stylos(at the top of the ramp) and buying those shoes was risking life and limb as the plastic they made those horrible shoes from had the lowest friction coefficient in the history of shoes in the wet, you'd get your new shoes, walk out with them on and go teapot over kettle down that ramp.

[Terrym]

Hi,Well remember the Leeds Locarno in the Merrion centre as I worked there in charge of sound and lighting in the early 70s.The managers name was Jack Allison and the assistant manager was Barry Stickney who went on to manage the Cats Whiskers at Meanwood.Cinders & Rockers was outside the Merrion Centre on what I believe was called merrion Way. In it's day it was a up market nighclub for Leeds and was one of Pete Stringfellows early forays into the night club scene.I also remeber the Wayfinder pub in the Merrion Centre as this was our regular port of call before going to work.

[buffaloskinner]

gledhowvalleysally wrote: have seen some pics of the inside of the cinma somewhere on the net, will try and dig them out Hi Sally here are a couple of links from the Evening Post which I posted earlier this year.Reeling in the years at cinema time forgot...Last Updated: 22 February 2007http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle.aspx?Sec ... 2067306and the picture gallery athttp://www.leedstoday.net/EditorialGallery.asp ... ctionID=39

[kierentc]

oooh, well i know this is an old thread but still...i can't believe this site has given me an appreciation of the merrion centre! i used to work there (opposite the stick and twist in an office at the other side of the entrance to the music store) and thought it was a right dump! i've certainly had my eyes openedwhen you think its a centre with offices, shops but with also a supermarket, cinema, market, several pubs, nightclub, bowling alley (although several being defunct of course)...well, is there anywhere else like it? or is it unique?i had a customer who worked at morrisons who told me some interesting stuff. apparently morrisons are unusual in that they actually own not lease that building. so when anyone ever moots the possibility of knocking the merrion centre down, well they'd have to do so around morrisons. or buy them out for gazillions of poundsseemingly this is morrisons most profitable store by miles. due to both the volume of traffic and the lack of overheads. this is why its never been seriously redeveloped. it would cost morrisons too much in lost profits to close it even temporarilyremember there was rumours of them extending into the arcade at one point? well apparently town centre securities were rubbing their hands with glee, thinking they'd be coining it in. but they then asked silly money...and morrisons stuck two fingers up at them and told them to shove it. i bet TCS were gutted. doesn't your heart just bleed for them? (especially phill-d) ;-Dmaybe this is why leases aren't long there...in case morrison change their mind?

[tyke bhoy]

Well unfortunately the cinema is all but gone as you alluded to but you forgot to mention the hotel thst is still there, isn't it?

[kierentc]

tyke bhoy wrote: Well unfortunately the cinema is all but gone as you alluded to but you forgot to mention the hotel thst is still there, isn't it? oh yes. the hotel. thats still there alright. just how big is that place?isn't it behind that pub that has had many lives, but in my day was panama joes? i bought my first alcoholic drink there, aged 13. there is no way on this earth i looked over age then!

[Trojan]

zip55 wrote: in 1970, the Mecca was upstairs with the Bali Hai next door. Cinderellas & Rockerfellas were out the back across the road from the bowling alley. Correct me if I'm wrong. No you're not wrong. We used to go to the bowl in the sixties, we used to alternate between the Merrion Centre one and the one on Kirkstall Road across from where Yorkshire TV is.There was a restaurant on Merrion Street in the Merrion Centre on the first floor called the "Skand a Grill" we used to eat there quite a lot in the late sixties early seventies.

[Croggy]

kierentc wrote: tyke bhoy wrote: Well unfortunately the cinema is all but gone as you alluded to but you forgot to mention the hotel thst is still there, isn't it? oh yes. the hotel. thats still there alright. just how big is that place?isn't it behind that pub that has had many lives, but in my day was panama joes? i bought my first alcoholic drink there, aged 13. there is no way on this earth i looked over age then! I'd forgotton about that hotel - went there for a works Christmas lunch about 20+ years ago! and Panama Joes - think it was called that at the time, ...a friend got chatted up by one of the House Martins in there!And the Box Office ...