From decades in the doldrums Broadway has found itself top of the news agenda across the region and beyond with the spectacular opening of The Broadway shopping centre.

The centre blends seamlessly with its surroundings, and with Broadway itself, which has been pedestrianised since the early 1970s.

It is hard to believe that a road once ran through here. We looked back to remind ourselves of what has gone before. In June 1954 the first trolleybus to enter Broadway, number 588, an ex: Nottinghamshire & Derby vehicle, is seen here leaving Forster Square with a posse of dignitaries and enthusiasts following.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Towards the end of that decade, the street and its surroundings resembled how it has looked in recent years – a vast construction site. Here, in March 1959, work carried on excavating building foundations on Broadway. The earth was used to level ground all over Bradford. The ornate glass curve of Bradford Exchange railway station is visible in the background, on the site of the now Crown Court.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Taken in July 1961, the photograph of Charles Street taken from Market Street shows cars of the period parked on both sides of the road - unheard of in our modern day city centres. An undated, later shot, shows the street with parking restrictions in place, now being home to a taxi rank.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Taken in 1973, the image of Cheapside shows the rather soulless central roundabout in which municipal planters and benches were placed. The Midland Hotel can be seen in the background.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Later images have been taken by T&A reader Ted Maskell, of Thackley, who has been capturing the site's development on film.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: