Merrion Centre

Bramley4woods · Post by **Bramley4woods** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 1:29 am

Trojan wrote: 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. For us it was our "Once a year day" with a new baby to bring up and the mortgage rate more / less doubling in 6 months during the middle of 1972 with 20% (?) inflation.However 9 or so years earlier going to Central High, we regarded the Skanda Grill as the coffee bar underneath. Otherwise known as "That place wi't rugs on t'walls". Not that we had the money for more than 2 or 3 coffees per year anyway.Accepting the Skanda Grill was the restaurant, what was the coffee bar called ?

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 8:27 am

There was the Skandia Coffee bar, but I think that might have been where Hampsons is now. Used to go there quite alot as a kid.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 9:20 pm

[quotenick="Bramley4woods"][quotenick="Trojan"] zip55 wrote: For us it was our "Once a year day" with a new baby to bring up and the mortgage rate more / less doubling in 6 months during the middle of 1972 with 20% (?) inflation.However 9 or so years earlier going to Central High, we regarded the Skanda Grill as the coffee bar underneath. Otherwise known as "That place wi't rugs on t'walls". Not that we had the money for more than 2 or 3 coffees per year anyway.Accepting the Skanda Grill was the restaurant, what was the coffee bar called ? We didn't start our family until 1975 so we could afford a treat there occasionally (2/3 times a year) We thought we were very sophisticated - they served Orange Sorbet in the orange skins!As for the coffee bar - I think it had a Greek name "Acropolis" comes to mind.

bruxxie1 · Post by **bruxxie1** » Thu 16 Oct, 2008 4:56 pm

The Merrion Centre was largely built over the old Rowland Winn's garage (main Vauxhall agents) which was pulled down around 1963/4. I used to work at Rowland Winn's and we were all made redundant when the Merrion Centre was planned. Most people went on to work for Wallace Arnold in Hunslet who took over the dealership.The Rockingham Street bus station was opposite Rowland Winn's car park and was the terminus for the No. 65 bus (Pudsey & Bramley) As I lived in Armley (Wyther Estate) I used to catch the bus to work.Many good memories of the old Rowland Winn garage - absolutely freezing in winter and roasting in summer ! Only source of heat in winter was a single 6" hot water pipe which ran down the edge of the workshop at sitting height. Many's the mechanic who suffered the old "grapes of wrath" after sitting on the hot pipe waiting to clock on to the next job !

arthor · Post by **arthor** » Tue 02 Dec, 2008 9:41 pm

hello gents. don't know of a bowling alley on Kirkstall rd. Where was it and whats there now?Talking of bowling alleys. Anyone got any pics of the bowling alley up at Headingley (Arndale???) shopping centre? I remember seeing a pic of the front doors. Anyone know anything of it?arthor

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Tue 02 Dec, 2008 10:15 pm

arthor wrote: hello gents. don't know of a bowling alley on Kirkstall rd. Where was it and whats there now?Talking of bowling alleys. Anyone got any pics of the bowling alley up at Headingley (Arndale???) shopping centre? I remember seeing a pic of the front doors. Anyone know anything of it?arthor Yorkshire TV's second building. It was below Silver Blades Ice Rink. I remember the bowling alley in the Arndale - I used to go in the sixties when tenpin had its first boom here.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 02 Dec, 2008 11:24 pm

bruxxie1 wrote: Many good memories of the old Rowland Winn garage - absolutely freezing in winter and roasting in summer ! Only source of heat in winter was a single 6" hot water pipe which ran down the edge of the workshop at sitting height. Many's the mechanic who suffered the old "grapes of wrath" after sitting on the hot pipe waiting to clock on to the next job ! I regularly used to buy petrol at Rowland Winn's filling station (Total petrol I believe). The attendant was a smashing guy called Geoff Hey who had a disability which gave him great difficulty in turning his head and he had to more or less turn his whole trunk instead.When the petrol station closed he went as a conductor on the buses with Sammy Ledgard's, moving to LCT Headingley Depot after the takeover.

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Wed 03 Dec, 2008 9:10 am

arthor wrote: hello gents. don't know of a bowling alley on Kirkstall rd. Where was it and whats there now?Talking of bowling alleys. Anyone got any pics of the bowling alley up at Headingley (Arndale???) shopping centre? I remember seeing a pic of the front doors. Anyone know anything of it?arthor There you go. From Leodis, although I'm sure this features on here somewhere else...

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Wed 03 Dec, 2008 3:33 pm

I think the Centre is a great example of 60's shopping centres and should not bedeveloped. Just look at how poor the Schofields Centre became and the awful St Johns and these were built 20 years later. It has a cracking mix of uses and still seesm soundly built if a little old fashioned ont he outside. I think a facelift here and there and a redevelopment of the rear, arcade and "superstore" and it will last another 40 years.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Wed 03 Dec, 2008 10:42 pm

Reginal Perrin wrote: I think the Centre is a great example of 60's shopping centres and should not bedeveloped. Just look at how poor the Schofields Centre became and the awful St Johns and these were built 20 years later. It has a cracking mix of uses and still seesm soundly built if a little old fashioned ont he outside. I think a facelift here and there and a redevelopment of the rear, arcade and "superstore" and it will last another 40 years. I quite agree there - for the want of a better expression the Merrion Centre "has something", especially the main part. I have to say I was never keen though on the "covered market" atmosphere of the superstore, with the exception of the really excellent large hardware store in one corner. In the main part though I really do like the mixture of a large amount and variety of small shops along with a splendid Morrisons and, more recently on the outside in Woodhouse Lane, many interesting new businesses.