by Sally Clifford

MANY Bradfordians will have fond memories of the city's department store heyday.

While the recent opening of The Broadway shopping centre has brought a fresh and modern approach for shoppers seeking those prized purchases, it has also offered the opportunity to reminisce about times past.

Brown, Muff & Co, fondly referred to as Brown & Muff's by local people, and Busbys' on Manningham Lane were to Bradford what Harrods is to London.

Discerning customers would flock from far and wide to sift through rails of high class quality clothes and goods. These were the department stores of the day and, bedecked with gilt and glamour, they offered more than the opportunity to make a fancy purchase - just browsing was an excuse to savour the experience.

In 1977 Brown, Muff & Co closed and changed to Rackhams in a takeover by the House of Fraser group. Shoppers continued to pass through its doors until it eventually closed in the mid 1990s.

The grandeur of Busbys' will never be forgotten either. Sadly though while the Brown, Muff & Co building remains in the heart of the city centre and is now occupied by other retailers, Busby's - later to become Debenhams - has long gone after it was destroyed by fire in the 1970s.

Another lost landmark is Bradford's iconic Swan Arcade. It is said to be one of the city's biggest regrets that the beautiful period arcade wasn't retained.

Looking at old photographs of the striking ornate architecture, this place would have had a purposeful presence among today's modern shoppers yet, apparently, there was little protest to the Swan Arcade's demolition to make way for a modern 1960s replacement - in contrast to today when local people would fight tooth and nail with campaigns and petitions to preserve the past for future generations to enjoy.